STAND UP DC!
When talking about the “Triple Crown,” usually winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes comes to mind. Although this rare feat has only been achieved by thirteen horses, only one city has done it in football. On Saturday night, DC capped off the elusive feat, becoming the first city to win a Super Bowl, Arena, and Spring football championship as the DC Defenders beat the Michigan Panthers 58-34 to claim the UFL Championship.
In Saturday night’s UFL title game, DC Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu had a night to remember, setting a UFL record with 390 passing yards and five touchdowns. Most notably, this 73-yard dart to Ty Scott.
While Ta’amu was named the game’s MVP, he wasn’t the lone star of the show, as DC received contributions from everyone. Defenders’ running backs rushed for 162 yards on 27 carries, averaging 6 yards per rush. Receiver Jaydon Mickens had 132 yards on six receptions, averaging a whopping 22 yards per catch, and the first touchdown of the day for DC.
Defensively, DC contained UFL MVP Bryce Perkins well, allowing just 330 passing yards, while Panthers running back Toa Taua, who led the UFL in rushing TDs, was contained to 34 yards on eight carries and no touchdowns. DC’s defense knew they had to step up, and they certainly did. DC even won the special teams battle with a fumble recovery on a kickoff.
Despite a last-minute coaching shuffle just a week before kickoff, Interim Head Coach Shannon “Doorman” Harris somehow dragged the Defenders from second-to-last in the UFL preseason power rankings all the way to a championship. A journey so improbable it makes the beer snake’s resurrection seem predictable. It’s a true testament to Harris and his staff, who kept the ship afloat through coaching chaos and managed to install their systems amid the madness. Now, with a title in hand, it might finally be time to “take the tag off” his interim title and call him what he is: the guy who brought DC its first UFL title.
Of course, an offseason full of mystery and roster roulette looms, especially in a league like the UFL. For a team that faced more adversity than its own fans did when security shut down the beer snake, that unpredictability isn’t going anywhere. NFL training camp invites may start flying soon, but while those chances may be short-lived, this Defenders squad is forever. Immortal in DC football lore, they’ll never have to pay for a drink in this city again.
So go ahead, Washington: build the beer snake, grease the light poles, throw the lemons, get rowdy at Audi, do whatever your celebration ritual is, it’s real Washington.
The five-year wait is over.
The DC Defenders are UFL Champions.
More Than Just Super Bowls
Saturday night’s championship was bigger than just a UFL title; it meant something for the entire city of Washington. Prior to the Defenders’ win that completed the triple crown, DC’s last two football championships came courtesy of very different eras: Washington’s NFL team in 1992 and, yes, the Washington Valor in the Arena Football League in 2018.
While many will confidently cite the 1992 Super Bowl as the last time a DC football team reached the mountaintop, real DC sports fans know the truth: the Washington Valor and the AFL walked by going bankrupt, allowing the Defenders and UFL to run and operate. The 2018 Valor squad went 2-10 in the regular season, starting 0-7, before suddenly becoming a team of destiny. They flipped the playoff script, then flipped themselves over the boards en route to winning ArenaBowl XXXI. A true “DC special” if there ever was one.
It might have flown under the radar due to the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup Championship. The banner still hangs in Capital One Arena, honoring the sacrifices those men made, like suiting up with minimal health insurance and clocking in for their day job 12 hours after scoring a game-winning touchdown. That team didn’t play for fame or fortune. They played for pride and probably a few of those leftover free Roy Rogers gift cards.
Before Beer Snakes and Arena Ball, There Were Hogs
The story known all too well is that before the beer snake slithered its way up Audi Field’s stands and into DC sports lore, Washington’s last true football triumph came in 1992, when the then-Redskins capped off a dominant 14-2 season with a Super Bowl XXVI win over the Buffalo Bills. Led by legendary head coach Joe Gibbs and MVP quarterback Mark Rypien, that team doesn’t receive the love it deserves because it was a true dynasty. Powered by The Hogs up front, a punishing defense, and a coaching staff that knew exactly how to win when it mattered. Hopefully, a fourth Washington Super Bowl is on its way soon.
Only one city can claim football’s “Triple Crown,” and that city is none other than Washington, D.C. Not the Kentucky Derby kind, no, we’re talking about the Super Bowl (1992), the ArenaBowl (2018), and now the UFL Championship (2024).
From Joe Gibbs and his legendary Hogs bulldozing defenses, to the Valor somehow turning a 2-10 disaster into a championship miracle, to the Defenders dragging themselves from preseason joke to UFL kings under the wise leadership of Shannon “Doorman” Harris. DC’s gridiron history is a messy, thrilling stew of grit, disorder (I’m looking at you Dan), and a dash of magic dust (Thank you Josh Harris!), sort of like getting a table at Ben’s Chili Bowl without a wait.
Go build that beer snake, grease those light poles, and throw your lemons like confetti into the Potomac. Heck, let’s throw a parade down Constitution, because it’s real Washington.
DC isn’t just the nation’s capital; it might as well just be Footballtown, USA. *As long as the DC City Council doesn’t botch this proposed stadium deal, the timing couldn’t be any better.*
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