A non-reply reply!

Joe Gibbs

Reference date: February 5th




According to the rules of my project, all I ask for when I send my letters out into the world is for some sort of reply. Ideally, I'd like the person writing back to answer some of the questions posed, but any reply will do. (It's such an exciting thrill when I drop letters in the mailbox knowing that these people will be reading my correspondence and starting a conversation by mail with me. Naturally, that thrill leads to disappointment when months go by without a reply. I know by statistical laws that 80% of the letters I send will go unanswered, but it's still a bummer.) Anyway, I was happy to find an envelope in my mailbox from the Washington Redskins, knowing that it would contain a letter from Coach Joe Gibbs, who is an inspiration to me. It was a bit of a letdown to see that the reply was a general form letter, which also contained a small pamphlet about Coach Gibbs' relationship with Jesus, and how my life would be better if I committed to Christ. Not quite what I expected, but someone in the Redskins office did take the time to write back, so I got that much.

Here is the text of the form letter:

To The Greatest Fans in football:

Thank you for taking the time to write to me.

While I do try to see the majority of mail that comes in to my office, I apologize in advance that I am unable to personally respond to each and every letter.

With that said, I still want you to know that your letter is important and I value your comments and suggestions. I continue to say that our fans are the best fans in the NFL. This team is "your" team and it is a great encouragement to know our fans support us and want the team to do well.

We are more determined than ever to return the Redskins to winning form. Our goal is to build on last season's successes and take our team as far as we can. The coaches and players know we have the greatest fans in professional football and our desire is to give our infamous" 12th Man" a winning season.

I am enclosing a copy of my tract for you and, again, we greatly appreciate your continued support of the Washington Redskins!

Go Skins!!

Joe Gibbs