It was one of those mornings where you know it’s going to be really hot outside. The sun had not yet risen on Saturday, but the rising temperature and heavy humidity were foreboding.
And yet the three parking lots outside the Commanders practice facility in Ashburn featured a line of people so long it started to weave around the gravel lot.
These fans woke up at ungodly hours and some had driven more than 100 miles from all corners of the D.C. area, not to attend a game or even a scrimmage. They came for practice.
The NFL season is still over a month away but Commanders fans are already in regular season mode. On Saturday, they had their jerseys from all three eras of the franchise: Redskins, Football Team and Commanders. Some had handmade signs. Others showed up to Ashburn in full pads and helmets.
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And while it’s easy to call these people crazy for doing all of this for a team that’s won three playoff games since 2000, there’s something endearing about what true love and fandom really look like.
“I cried as a kid when we used to lose, and now [it’s] joy,” said Antonio Cummings, who woke up at 4 a.m. to make the hourlong trek from Prince George’s County. “And I’m looking forward to a better year like we had in 2024. … I just want to support the guys. That’s why I’m here early.”
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This year, the Commanders opened 11 training camp practices for fans to come watch. Seats and standing-room-only sections are on a first-come, first-served basis, which makes space particularly competitive on days when more than 3,000 people show up. So if you want the best view of linebacker Odafe Oweh stretching or quarterback Jayden Daniels whipping a football with a towel or new receiver Stefon Diggs running a route, you’d best get to the facility early. Doors don’t open until about 7:30 a.m. for the 8:30 practices, but some fans start lining up before 6.
Josh and Logan May live two hours away from Ashburn in Greene County, Virginia, right outside of Charlottesville. They woke up at 3 a.m. and were on the road by 3:45 with their two young children. They were the first in line, at about 5:45.
“They actually get up pretty good for this,” Josh May said about their kids. “It’s not like school.”
Rita Spong also lives about two hours away in Baltimore County, though she woke up a little earlier. “I got up at 2,” she said. That’s early, but nothing a little caffeine can’t fix.
“It was crazy, but then I got my coffee and I was lit the whole way,” Spong said, wearing a Daniels jersey shirt and holding a “WELCOME HOME DIGGS” sign.
Fans schlep out to Loudoun County for a multitude of reasons. Some want to see their favorite players. Others want visual proof of the improvements the team has made since last season’s disastrous 5-12 campaign. A select few are here mainly because tickets are free. But most of all, people come out of a deep love for this team — their team.
Montrell Pointer of Laurel, Maryland, got his dad to bring him because he dreams of playing in the NFL one day and wanted to see his favorite player, Terry McLaurin, in person.
“I love the Commanders,” Montrell said, wearing a black McLaurin jersey. “And I’m just trying to get some autographs and see them practice and see how they do and learn some stuff maybe.”
Waking up before dawn on the weekend to drive upwards of two hours to stand in line for more hours to watch NFL players practice in the searing sun and suffocating humidity for even more hours sounds like sane behavior to football fans. But to many others, it sounds like willingly jumping out of an airplane.
Friends and family might understand attending training camp, but they draw the line at hitting the road before the birds sing.
“One of my friends is actually coming here, and she’s coming at 8 a.m., and I told her she was crazy,” said Mia Ovando, who lives about 10 minutes away from camp in Sterling.
Josh May’s mother loves Washington great Darrell Green and would do anything to see the Hall of Famer, who now works for the team, in person. But “when we told her what time we was coming, she said, ‘I think I’ll miss it,’” he said.
For many fans, training camp is more than just a practice. It’s family time or a bonding experience. It’s a chance to pass down traditions and create a love that — unlike some friendships or even marriages — can overcome pain and sorrow and loss.
Nicandra Brown’s 81-year-old uncle is the reason she became a Commanders fan as a kid. Saturday was Kids Day at training camp and she and a friend brought their grandsons.
“This is our team,” Brown said. “We’re trying to make sure they want to be Commander fans, too.”
Spong’s family was always “screaming and mad” when watching Commanders games, so she learned to scream and be mad, too. Especially when Washington loses.
“If we don’t win, the whole week be just messed up for real,” she said. “Don’t nobody better not say nothing to me on my job, like for real. Don’t play. We serious about this. Like they don’t understand. They don’t understand.”
Many of the fans in line were bullish about the coming season. There was a near-consensus that Washington will reach the NFC championship game, as it did in 2024. And the recent signing of Diggs, a DMV native, received unanimous approval.
Afternoon temperatures were projected to be in the low 90s, with humidity making it feel closer to 100 degrees. But nobody in the early-morning crowd seemed deterred. Spong had a portable neck fan wrapped around her, sitting comfortably under her locs.
“I was proactive,” Spong said. “Got to thank Amazon. Got my little fan, so I’m ready.”
When asked about weathering the heat in his authentic Sean Taylor jersey, black track pants and gold Mr. T-esque oversized “W” chain, Cummings launched into an emphatic speech about how possibly risking heat exhaustion will contribute to the success of the Commanders this season.
“Listen, in order to be the best, you got to beat the best, and sometimes that means you got to stand in the kitchen,” Cummings began. “So I got to stand in the kitchen with the guys. You know, we got to cook up, whether it’s in the heat, whether it’s in the cold. We got to cook up. If it was 20 degrees, I’d be out here. So I sweat with them, too.”
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