Finally, the Commanders can focus on football

Of all the positives of Dan Snyder selling the Washington Commanders, the biggest of all is simple: no more distractions.

For many years, much of the talk surrounding the Commanders was not about football. It was about the team's name, the toxic workplace environment and the overall incompetence that started at the top. It cast a black cloud over the atmosphere in D.C. and left fans with a defeatist mentality.

Now, that black cloud is gone. Washington fans are allowed to believe again. There is no longer a feeling that sustained success on the gridiron is impossible, because should the team have something good going, Snyder will find a way to screw it up.

The Commanders have reasons for hope on the field right now, too. They have a tight-knit clubhouse, a top-10 defense and a proven offensive coordinator who ideally will help young QB Sam Howell take Washington to the next level.

It's hard to think of the last time there was so much optimism in Landover. Maybe not since 2015, when Kirk Cousins came out of obscurity to lead the team to the playoffs, and seemed like the QB of the future... just to have his time in D.C. end two years later due to a contract dispute.

Or maybe it's been since 2012, when rookie sensation Robert Griffin III looked like he was going to have Washington contending for Super Bowls for the next decade. A mishandled injury put a stop to that.

Really, though, the answer is back before Snyder bought the team, or at least since very early in his tenure. That was the last time it was possible to be a Washington fan without feeling morally conflicted over the dysfunctional mess the organization was.

The sky is the limit in regard to where the Commanders go from here. Regardless of how the team performs, D.C. fans should all be relieved to know that finally, their focus can be on football — and only football.