The Tribune

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The three-day inaugural Doug Williams and Legends Weekend held in Nassau, Bahamas, June 8-11 was a tremendous success and players and Washington Redskins fans are already looking forward to next year's event.

The event is in partnership with the Islands of The Bahamas and aims to promote the islands while giving fans of the Redskins a chance to experience the country. The goal is to attract as many of the hundreds of thousands of Washington Redskins fans as possible.

"The main focus of sports tourism is for us to find new avenues to get what we call heads in beds in The Bahamas and having this Doug Williams Celebrity Weekend is a great way to get the word out about The Bahamas. We were able to work with a local marketing group who, along with the Redskins, put together a package to create an event for the players and some of the fans just to enjoy some fun in The Bahamas," said Jeffrey Rodgers, senior manager of sports tourism for Bahamas Tourist Office in Washington.

The weekend included a welcome reception and Junkanoo social at The Pier, a golf tournament at Baha Mar's Royal Blue golf course, a city tour, a golf and cheerleading clinic with Doug Williams and the Legends and a Sunset Cruise.

Doug Williams, Redskins Super Bowl XXII MVP, said he's grateful for the opportunity to spread the word of what The Bahamas has to offer.

"Well, I think number one when you talk about The Bahamas you think about tourism. You want to do some things here that you can go back and share what you did, the fun that we had here and hopefully we can get more people to come down and visit The Bahamas and enjoy all the good that life has to offer," Williams said.

Williams added that it is his wish that the inaugural weekend will get more people interested so that the event grows next year, and he feels confident it will.

"I think we had about 90 people that came down to enjoy. We had people come from Louisiana and a lot of people come from Denver, Houston, people from Washing DC area. Hopefully we can build this next year and the year after that so it can be one of the weekends that a lot of people want to take part in."

Dexter Manley, first time visitor and Redskins alumni, said The Bahamas is a great venue and the event should happen year-round.

"I think it's a great place, they should do this year-round. Doug Williams was MVP of the Superbowl XXII and I think there's some sort of relationship with the tourism. I've never seen such a beautiful place and beautiful people so this is God's country to me," Manley said.

Jeff Bostic, Redskins alumni, said the event could not get any better than it was. "If it was any better, I would not know how to act. Beautiful weather, beautiful beaches, beautiful water, friendly people, great restaurants. If you want to come to a place that has it all, it's The Bahamas," Bostic said.

Richard "Doc" Walker, alumni of the Redskins, said although he has visited The Bahamas before, he was looking forward to the waters.

"I'm looking forward to the water, the beautiful water, the fact that you can see your toes in the water and it hasn't been polluted and it's been respected. I'm also looking forward to the great food, the people, we don't have this and that's why it's special," he said.