For today's Throwback Thursday moment presented by
SUBWAY®* restaurants, Redskins.com spoke with Trevor Matich to talk about his long-time love for the Redskins and memories of playing at RFK Stadium.
The date, Nov. 7, 1993, was special for Trevor Matich. That day, the Washington Redskins hosted his Indianapolis Colts, for whom he was a center and long snapper, at RFK Stadium.
Matich found it a "thrill" to play at RFK. Growing up in Sacramento, Calif., he developed an affinity for the Raiders, 49ers and the Redskins. He watched the Redskins many times on Monday Night Football with legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell calling the games. As a kid, he admired the Redskins from the 1970s, such as star linebacker Chris Hanburger and others from the "Over The Hill Gang."
Even when he played at Brigham Young University and for much of his NFL career, which began in 1985, Matich rooted for Joe Gibbs-1 era greats such as Monte Coleman, Art Monk, Charles Mann, Gary Clark and the "Hogs," the Redskins' famed offensive line.
So before the 1993 game started, Matich stepped onto the RFK turf to honor those who had come before him.
"I went out early because I was so excited to stand on that field that I had watched so many times as a kid and as a player on Monday Night Football," he said. "Some of my football heroes played on that field. So I went over to the end zone. I was careful not to step on anything that was sacred to the Redskins. I was respectful of it.
"The turf in the end zone said Redskins in burgundy and gold in that special font," he said. "That one of a kind font. It just made me think of how I felt watching the Redskins on Monday Night Football, and Art Monk and Gary Clark are scoring touchdowns in that end zone. I was so excited watching it on TV, and I was there in an opponents' uniform looking at that same end zone. I was going to do everything I [could] to stomp them into the turf before they can get there. But it was the feeling of being there. That's where some of my football heroes celebrated."
Matich said growing up he also admired great players on the 49ers and Raiders. But he admitted that it "broke my heart" when Raiders linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in Oakland's 38-9 victory over the Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII in January 1984.
"There was just something special about the people that wore burgundy and gold," he said. "There's something special about this place, and there's something special about the people. What made the Redskins special are the people that paid the price on the field. They built character that they took with them as individuals but left here as teammates, and it stayed here."
The Redskins beat Indianapolis that day, 30-24, for one of their four wins in 1993. That season marked Matich's ninth in the NFL. The following year, he was – to his delight – wearing the Burgundy & Gold.
"I was such a fan of this team from when I was a kid," he said. "Then, when I got to play at RFK, it was such a thrill. It sounds a little goofy, but I played on five NFL teams over 12 years and enjoyed every one of them. None of them felt like this."
Matich played three seasons in D.C. The last game of his career, a 37-10 win over the Cowboys on Dec. 22, 1996, was also the Redskins' last game after 35 years at RFK Stadium.
He captured the moment.
"I remember the last game at RFK, and I remember all of the players were pretty much going off the field," he said. "I just stayed for a while. I just kind of felt it. You could feel the ghosts, you could feel the rhythm, the energy. You could feel the millions of fans over the decades who had gone through that stadium and had given everything they had to the team. And I'm out there in a Redskins uniform just soaking it in. I didn't want to leave the field."
