Hogettes make way for new era in DC

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- It's "a new era" in Washington, a member of the venerable Hogettes declared, as the group of Redskins fans said they will no longer wear dresses to games.

The cadre of season-ticket holders who have been sporting thrift-store frocks, wigs and rubber pig noses since the 1980s announced their "retirement" this week, asking how much longer could their unique form of performance art go on?

"Thirty years of guys in pig snouts and dresses is probably enough for any society," said co-founding Hogette Michael Torbert.

Torbert was one of 11 buddies who first adopted the Hogette motif in 1983 as a salute to the Redskins' vaunted offensive linemen, who were themselves nicknamed The Hogs by fellow fans and the media.

But that was then and this is now, Torbert and friends explained at a news conference Friday. The arrival of quarterback Robert Griffin III and the newly resurgent Skins looked to the Hogettes to be a good time to consign themselves to gender-appropriate outfits, The Washington Post reported Friday.

"It's a new ear. It was great seeing RGIII and Alfred Morris break onto the scene, and it's a perfect time to retire the old era and start the new," Torbert said.