Columnist Dean Juipe: Redskins gouge fans with fees

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, July 25, 2000 | 9:43 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

There once was a time when you could call the telephone operator for information and it was free.

There once was a time when you could drive your car around the Red Rock loop or through the Valley of Fire and it was free.

There once was a time when athletes gladly provided autographs for fans and it was free.

There once was a time when you could watch the Washington Redskins practice and it was free.

But life has gotten more expensive. As is the case with the examples provided above, there are any number of items that once were taken for granted but today are accompanied by at least a token price tag.

Having to pay to watch the Redskins practice merely extends the trend into a previously uncharted area.

Many find it absurd.

Most, however, are reaching for their wallets with a surprising nonchalance. Through the first five days of charging fans $10 to see their workouts -- plus $10 to park -- the Redskins are meeting very little vocal opposition.

In fact, the majority of fans surveyed at Washington's just-opened training camp in Ashburn, Va., have accepted the entry fees with a graciousness usually reserved for Buckingham Palace.

The Redskins are the first sports team in history to charge fans to attend practice. Given the lack of resistance they're seeing, the 'Skins certainly won't be the last.

They have tapped into their fan base and found a way to get water from a rock. They stuck their hands a little deeper into Joe Fan's pocket and didn't elicit more than a giggle in response.

Of course it helps that the Redskins are seen as the team to beat in the National Football League this season, at least as it pertains to betting odds in Las Vegas. At the Gold Coast sports book, for instance, Washington is 5-2 to win the 2001 Super Bowl; Tampa Bay (9-2), St. Louis (11-2), Jacksonville (11-2), Tennessee (8-1), Denver (9-1) and Indianapolis (9-1) follow.

With the Redskins laying out huge piles of cash to sign seven free-agent newcomers (including Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith and Jeff George) and with the team payroll at an NFL record $80 million, the strongbox was getting a little light. Bingo! Someone in the accounting department found a novel solution: Replace the moochers who were lolling on the sidelines at practice with a new breed of upscale clientele.

No $20, no seeing the third-string punter shank one off the side of his foot.

Could this come back to haunt the 'Skins? Maybe, but not in the way you might expect.

It turns out NFL policy restricts teams from scouting other teams during training camp, provided entry to those practices is free. But with Washington charging for its workouts, scouts from rival teams have descended upon the Redskins' camp with a host of Andrew Jacksons in hand and will be sending back detailed reports to their supervisors.

The Redskins have traded their element of surprise for a few new bangles and beads.

In exchange for drawing blood from a turnip, they have surrendered the ability to pull off a trick play.

But after bullying their fans, maybe the Redskins can bully the rest of the league. Who needs trick plays?