A Power City, Powerless Before the Redskins

"You talk to people you ordinarily don't talk to," said Jameson, who came to Washington in 1988 from Indianapolis. "The love and the pride for the Redskins helps cross racial, political, social and generational divides like nothing else. In a town of transients, it's a great common denominator."

Sean T. Connaughton (R), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, said he generally watches the games with his 11-year-old son, Sean T. Connaughton Jr. "We throw a football . . . in the living room," he said. "He runs with the ball. I have to tackle him. My wife is screaming because she says somebody is going to get hurt. And somebody usually gets hurt."

In a political season of controversies and debacles, the Redskins have become an escape for the political foot soldiers and power brokers that fuel Washington.

"When your weekend comes, you can forget all the problems of the political and policy world and relax with a good Redskins win," added Jameson, who works for EDS, an information technology company. "We usually don't have this feeling in mid-January."

This being Washington, politics are never entirely forgotten.

The Redskins, as urban legend goes, have proved to be a better prognosticator than any presidential poll in history. Since 1944, in 15 of the past 16 presidential elections, if the Redskins lost their last home game before the election, the incumbent party lost the White House. And when the team won, the party stayed in power. The streak was broken in 2004 when the Redskins lost at home to the Green Bay Packers, forecasting a victory for the Democratic contender, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts.

Then there are the political stands about the Redskins. On Sept. 24, 1996, Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. (D-Ohio) blasted the Redskins in an address to the House. The team's crime: It made Japanese carmaker Nissan its official vehicle.

"The Washington Redskins now ride a war horse made in Japan. Unbelievable," Traficant told fellow lawmakers. "Now, tell me what is wrong with Ford; how about Chevy, Jeep, Chrysler? Do they matter to America anymore?"

For D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), a mayoral candidate, the playoff games are interfering with the city's other big game: campaigning.

Fenty -- known as a machine when it comes to campaigning door-to-door --had the misfortune of scheduling a campaign event during last week's playoff game. He didn't even try to compete.

"We waited until the end of the game to speak," Fenty said. "I tell you, it was a good feeling speaking after the Redskins won. I don't know what I would have said if they lost."

Mark Isakowitz, a prominent GOP lobbyist who plans to watch today's game, said lawmakers and lobbyists are focused on the Redskins just as they are on national politics, if not more so.

"The very people who were parsing the nuances of [Supreme Court nominee Samuel A.] Alito's words earlier this week will be the ones wearing pig snouts Saturday afternoon, screaming at their televisions," Isakowitz said.

By the way, if football made up the top 20 programs in Washington, what was No. 21? The Sept. 25 episode of "Desperate Housewives."

The Redskins didn't play that day.

Staff writers Jason LaCanfora, Nikita Stewart, Juliet Eilperin, Lisa Rein and Eric M. Weiss contributed to this report.