It was one thing when the Redskins were coached by Joe Gibbs and featured Joe Theisman, John Riggins, Dexter Manley and Darrell Green.  But no one wants to see the Jim Zorm-Jason Campbell era Redskins team.

I live in the middle of North Carolina, which means Fox gives me the Panthers games.  As a Vikings fan, it means I do not get the game I really want to watch, but at least I understand the logic behind it.  Since I am too poor to get the NFL Sunday Ticket, or go to a sports bar, it means I only get to see my favorite team a few times a year.

At the start of the year, I knew I was going to get to see three Vikings games, as they had prime-time contests against the Packer, the Panthers and the Bears.  On top of that, I hoped to get lucky and have their games be a featured double-header game (they had late games at Green Bay and at Arizona) or ones that might be moved as part of the league’s flexible schedule in the second half of the year.

Another avenue I was hoping for to see my Vikings televised was when they played host to AFC teams, meaning that the games would be broadcast on CBS rather than Fox.  This year the AFC games in the Metrodome are: Baltimore and Cincinnati.  Today is the Baltimore game and my hopes were high that WFMY, my local CBS affiliate, would televise the Vikings.

CBS was showing a 1:00 game in this area and they had a choice of three games: Ravens-Vikings, Browns-Steelers and Chiefs-Redskins.  The matchups have the following win totals:

Ravens-Vikings – 8

Browns-Steelers – 4

Chiefs-Redskins – 2

So, imagine my disgust when I find out that WFMY is broadcasting the Chiefs-Redskins pillow fight.

Does anyone want to see this game?

However, as much as it disgusts me, it came as no shock.  Before the Panthers franchise was born, this area was fed the Redskins games on a weekly basis.  Many residents were unhappy when the Panthers came to town because it meant the end of Redskins’ telecasts in the area.

But that was 15 years ago!  For the love of god, stop showing us Redskins games as a knee-jerk response.  By all means, if the Redskins have a good team, send us that game.  But nobody wants to see this edition of the Redskins, who have two wins only because they have played home games against the Rams and the Bucs.

A few years back, on a weekend when the Panthers had a bye, I was disappointed when a similar situation occurred.  A more interesting Vikings game was not shown in favor of a dismal Redskins contest.  I was so enraged that I wrote a letter to the local sports editor, demanding an explanation.

I am happy to report that Rich Brenner, than the anchor at WGHP, took the time to write me back.  He basically agreed with me, but said that the local Fox affiliates have virtually no say in which games they broadcast.

So, NFL big-wigs, hear my plea: Stop showing crappy teams to out of market areas just because 15 years ago we used to get that team.  Show us the matchups that matter in 2009.