September 28, 2006
Citizens Bank Park at RFK
The Nationals had an exciting game last night, tying the Phillies in the bottom of the ninth and again in the tenth, then falling just short in the 14th. However, you wouldn't know it from the Nats fans. We wrote about fairweather fans before, but this game was just sad - for one, a lot of people hit the exits as the 9th inning ended. So the Nats aren't in the playoff hunt and the Phils are, but why not watch your team in a great game with a good team? Ryan Zimmerman tied the game for the Nationals with a bases-loaded, bottom of the ninth walk - how often does that happen?
Throughout the game, Philly fans were far louder and seemed to vastly outnumber any Washington fans in attendance - they cheered and chanted for the entire game with nary a response, no boos or "Let's Go Nats!" to drown out the loud and incessant "Let's Go Phil-lies" chants. The game might as well have been played at Citizens Bank Park. And it's not like there weren't other reasons for Nats fans to get excited - a Zimmerman homer, a Felipe Lopez triple, some great defensive plays (again by Zimmerman), plus clutch hitting and aggressive base-running. Or fans could have even booed Phillies superstars-in-the-making Ryan Howard (and his 58 homers) and Chase Utley. Instead, the chants were "MVP! MVP!" as the two came up to bat. As the game went on, glances down into the lower section revealed far more Phillies jerseys and hats than Nats.
So why are Nats fans apathetic? Are they too busy checking their Blackberries and talking on their cell phones? Do the pricey concessions make them dour? Maybe it's cavernous RFK? Or is it just because the team is new and bad? Badness doesn't seem to explain it, as Wizards and Caps fans can get pretty rowdy, and the Redskins aren't exactly the 1972 Dolphins either. Marc Fisher even tried using Google to look into it. Whatever it is, seeing 20 Phillies jerseys versus 3 Nats hats on the Metro car home did not inspire confidence. It seemed more like a SEPTA train to Norristown than the Orange Line to Vienna.
Photo by Flickr user KimTheWolf
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Could it just be that no one particularly cares? The Nats are a medicore team with no real local accomplishments. I enjoy the occasional game, but I could care less if the Nats win (I may, from time to time, hope that the other team (say, e.g., the Yankees) loses). And I sure as hell won't be wearing one of the W hats . . .
You're making a rather BOLD statement here. If you catch my drift.
because d.c. is becoming a pretty sorry excuse for a city (and our capital city at that). i hate to say it, but it's true. it's tiny, the crime is sky high, and it's mostly a commuter city. i've been here for four years as a college student and i plan on never returning here to live again.
I'm a Nats fan and I go to a lot of games. I try to support my hometown team, but I do enjoy seeing certain out-of-town favorites when they play at RFK, especially since I've had up to 30 years to build a relationship with most other MLB clubs and only two years to learn to love my Nats (which I do, more or less unconditionally). One of the things that has turned me off to other Nats fans, however, is the Districtonians' propensity for booing visting teams and players for no reason other than being visitors. Go ahead and boo Barry Bonds. Boo the Yankees if you're a Red Sox fan. Boo your own team's stars when they don't earn their keep (as Phillies fans do with lousy Pat Burrell). However, don't boo great stars like Chase Utley just for being a great stars. It takes a lot away from the game and makes D.C. seem like a second rate city. Leave Philly's famous boobirds alone, and just cheer and have a great time. It's baseball! Andrew Wiseman should be ashamed.
Check out our web site, we were there screaming at the philly fans on Tuesday as they went home losers. Then we hit the new H Street to celebrate. And where were you when we chased the pathetic new jersey people out of RFK earlier this year, shouting them down as we squashed the Yankees? Its been a good year and now its Football season and a weeknight, calm down...
I think the bottom line is nobody likes a spoiler. The Phillies have had a hard slog, and the fans are duly showing their support. What's the incentive for Nationals fans? That their team is the bigger underdog?
It was a bit discouraging. So was waiting around 14 innings to finally lose, but hey, it happens.
Not to totally excuse Nats fans, but their were some mitigating circumstances:
1. Phillies must win to have a shot at the wild card, whereas the Nats were eliminated long ago. So it means more to their fans.
2. From my seat in the upper deck, it appeared that most of the Phillies fans seemed to be concentrated in a few vocal pockets, which were much more able to feed off their collective energies than the dispersed Nats fans, who began thinning out after the 9th, exacerbating the effect. To me, the later in the evening/extra innings it became, the further up 95 the stadium seemed.
3. We're new at this. Phillies fans have over a head start of oh about a century to get good and rabid. and annoying. Give us time.
Still a good game, though.
maybe it's because philly is just better...
Having been ripped on this board before for insinuating that I have to go to work in the morning, I go here with some trepidation, but...
I've left after the 7th of reasonably close games before because of the time issue. Game starts at 7, a couple of long innings, late game pitching changes, and all of a sudden it's 9:30 with the home team behind. And while WMATA does do the right thing in running more blue line trains, I um, don't live on the blue line. So while I got right on the train at Stadium, I still spent 15 minutes waiting on the platform at Lenfant, and got home at 11. Again, at the risk of the kool kids mocking me and telling me to leave for NoVa, there's a statistical increase in my risk of getting mugged the later I leave the columbia heights station to walk home.
When I lived in Texas, even though The Ballpark in Arlington was several counties away, I could be home as quickly, in the comfort of my car, delivered to my door without the chance of getting mugged. While I wont condone the sprawl of I-20 from a public policy sense, it made me more likely to stay for the whole game.
I know that it's a policy set by the MLB, but I'd really prefer if weeknight games started at 6 or 6:30, rather than 7:05.
the problem is that almost no one if from DC so many sports fans consider the Washington team their "second team" Ted Leonsis mentioned this once when he looked down from his box during a Red Wings/Caps game and saw what he knew were season ticket holder wearing Red Wings jeseys.
Who cares who's paying money now to be here as long as someone is doing it. Once we build a foundation and get some long-term fan base in here, then we can worry about competing with a team who is currently entrenched in a wild card race. Look at the records of the teams - is this 'discrepancy' really a shock to anyone?
i'm a half season ticket holder, and i wasn't there. it's the end of the season, i've already been to 30+ games, the nats chances of being in the pennant race are about the same as them being in the indy 500...
c'mon man. 162 games is a lot of games to be dedicated for.
Maybe if the team had its games on TV and had a decent stadium it could build more of a fan base.
The first few years of the Capitals in the mid-seventies, it was similar when the Flyers (then at their peak) came to town. Doesn't really both me -- once the Nats become contenders, you'll see the scene reversed at Citizens Bank Park when they're contending and the Phils aren't. D.C. and Philly should have a great rivalry in all sports, and it's unfortunate the Caps and Wizards are no longer in the same divisions with the Flyers and 76ers.
Um, all of the games are now on TV.
Three reasons:
1) No on in DC is from DC, so they root for other teams like the Spankees or the Red Cox.
2) The stadium sucks and is in BFE. As soon as the new, way-too-expensive stadium is built and fans can enjoy the experience, more people will go to games. This happened in Denver and Seattle after new stadiums were built.
3) The Nats are pretty horrible and people don't like to watch horrible teams play. If they start winning and get some exciting 'A list' players, people will come out to support them, even people who aren't big baseball fans.
Oh, and a 4th reason (just my opinion) is that people in DC are a bunch of nerds who aren't really into sports. They love their jobs, working long hours, and sitting around with other nerds talking about their jobs. Philly is more blue collar and is full of crazy sports fans who love to watch sports, drink beer, and hang out with other sports fans to talk about sports and drink more beer on top of that.
i can't believe that the city with the richest and most profitable sports franchise (redskins) is a bad sports town. in addition, it was 'awarded' one of the worst managed and poorest sports franchise and we've only given them 2 years to judgement day? that's unfair. but for instant gratifacationalists, yes, you're right, they fail to meet your standards.
Most people that live in DC aren't Washingtonians, and thus, aren't Nats fans. I only go when my Buccos come to town, of if my friends that are O's fans don't feel like making the trek up to Bmore to see their team. That's it. Its different with the Redskins, Caps, and Wizards, because they've been around longer.. they have mroe "locals" from Maryland and VA in their fan base. The people who would be Nats fans are often O's fans. They aren't just going to switch. And don't even try the "but they are in different leagues" argument with them. That's like saying NYers can be Mets and Yankees fans. Doesn't happen. Give the Nats some time.. you don't get a fan base overnight.
The Nats fans on Friday did manage to boo down a "let's go Mets" chant, which was nice to hear.