Redskins Fans Are Leaving Early Because of Metro

WASHINGTON, DC — Perhaps the NFL should stop scheduling prime-time games at FedEx Field in the future, as fans have now been forced to head to the exits early in multiple Redskins games this year to catch the last Metro train instead of staying until the final snap.

It's been just a couple months since Washington Nationals fans chanted "Metro sucks" after an announcement in the 7th inning of a series-deciding playoff game against the Los Angeles Dodgers that the last Metro train was leaving thanks to WMATA's SafeTrack effort, and now Redskins fans are enjoying the experience of having to choose between watching the rest of the game and being stranded miles from home.

The Redskins were scheduled for three home games this year in prime time: a Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to open the season on Sept. 12, a Sunday night game against the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 20 and Monday night's matchup against the Carolina Panthers. In every case, Metro refused to make an exception to keep the Metro open for another hour or two to accommodate fans who, for whatever reason, weren't able to drive and lived too far away to take a cab or Uber.

As a result, reports emerged both at the Packers game and during Monday night's game that Redskins fans were headed to the exits with lots of football left to play.

Last Metro train leaves in exactly 20 minutes. Seeing some #Redskins fans hustle out.
— Chuck Carroll (@ChuckCarrollWLC) December 20, 2016

@Redskins lifelong Redskins fan, finally got to come from NC to D.C. Really upset about the metro leaving so early , missed half the game
— Barry Allison (@bdanc33) November 22, 2016

For the 1 @Redskins night game a season @wmata could help fans get home safely w/h later trains. Missed great 4th quarter due to last Metro.
— Treva G (@JulieMcCoy73) November 21, 2016

Metro's lack of flexibility illustrates that the agency has bigger issues to deal with than a few inconvenienced Redskins fans, namely chronic safety problems throughout the system that SafeTrack aims to fix, as well as a looming budget crisis, with General Manager Paul Wiedefeld saying recently that $1 billion would be needed over the next three years to properly address the system-wide issues.

Unfortunately for Redskins fans who want to enjoy a night game at FedEx Field, things are unlikely to change anytime soon. Metro has indicated its switch to earlier closing times, with the last train leaving at 11:27 p.m., will remain in place for at least the next two years, and possibly longer.

Image: Patch staff