Those of you who follow this blog might have picked up on the fact that I’ve been going to a lot of Nationals games lately, and writing a lot about the team. Well, that’s due in large part to spending the last two and a half months residing in our nation’s capital. I’m going home on Saturday and attended my final Nats game of the summer tonight, a fitting, 3-0 victory over the Phillies.
As always, I made observations, and took some notes on the game, but tonight I’d like to focus on something different; something I’ve noticed these last few months about baseball, the Nationals, and this city.
Washington DC is a GREAT baseball town.
This place is obsessed with the sport and with this team. There are scores of softball leagues in DC, everything from the Senate League primarily featuring rosters of staffers but occasionally representatives themselves, to the Think Tank League, which I think is self explanatory. Every single day, the National Mall is mobbed with softball games to the point they often overlap and pedestrians have to dodge flyballs on their way from the Washington Monument to Capitol Hill.
The Nationals are a constant presence. Maybe it’s more intense this season thanks to the team’s success, but the Nats are everywhere. Going to a game is common post-work practice around the city and I’ve been in many public places where clothing themed anything but Nationals red stands out. On game days, the Metro conducts a flood of ballpark-bound fans, and a continuous sea of red rushes forth to engulf the remainder of the city.
Now, I grew up in New York City where every street vendor has a Yankees sticker on their cart and every third person sports the NY on their head, but that’s nothing compared to DC. The typical workout wear in this city is a Nats t-shirt. Nats caps are by far the most prevalent, and the distinctive cursive ‘W’ is everywhere. It’s truly difficult to describe the omnipresence this team possesses.
Washington has an interesting dynamic because, by definition, everyone is from all over. But once here, they all seem to get a sense of National unity. Wherever ‘all over’ is, it seems to embrace the Nats as its own. Back home, the Yankees (and I say the Yankees because the Mets, in terms of discussion topics in New York, are a distant, distant second) are discussed, but really only by those you would consider ‘fans.’ Here, discussion of the Nats is a frequent occurrence across the demographic spectra, and just about everyone is informed. It really is impressive.
The (baseball) situation in the capital is extremely encouraging. Washington is a prime example of the broad appeal and vibrance of the pastime. The city has whole heartedly embraced the Nationals and it players, and aside from the heat and humidity, I can’t think of many places it would be better to play. After two plus months of DC, Jayson Werth’s decision to come here makes a whole lot more sense.
-Max Frankel
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