Salisbury Resident's Web Site Gains National Attention - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

SALISBURY, Md. - Born out of a love for the Redskins, Ray Smith launched www.sonofwashington.com nearly 2 and a half years ago.

Now, the multimedia site covering everything burgundy and gold is gaining national attention.

"When we first started, we said 'wouldn't it be great if fifty people read us in a day?'," said Smith.

It's a goal Smith and his team made right away. Complete with exclusive player interviews, podcasts and videos, it averaged 330,000 page hits per month by 2012.

The all-star team is lean: Kiel Maddox, Katie Garret, Allen Anthony, Tony Gerra and Chris DeGraw. All are playing their parts from around the country.

But despite being miles apart, they stuck with their plans and eventually caught the eye of heavy hitters like the Washington Post - and the Redskins.

When the decades-old debate about the team's name came up for discussion on ESPN's "Outside the Lines," Smith got a call from producers to go on record to defend the controversial Redskin team name.

Now in federal court, representatives of a number of Native American Tribes hope to put an end to the nickname, calling it a racial slur.

"From our point of view, this is about respect, this is about tradition, and this is about pride," said Smith on "Outside the Lines."

"When you have 90 thousand people singing 'Hail to the Redskins,' to me that says we're proud of this culture and we're proud of this tradition."
 
Despite the potential backlash from his viewers, Smith feels the success of his site will continue to grow.

"This is definitely beginning to look like something that is beyond just a hobby," said Smith.