Courtesy of The Washington Post

Results from a new Washington Post poll partially released this weekend confirms much of what we already suspected about sports fans living in the D.C. region: we hate the villains, love the winners, and remain divided between the lifelong locals and recent transplants.

From the limited raw data released online — results of a sample of 1,010 metro area adults — the Capitals take the top honors as the favorite child of D.C. sports, garnering a 61% favorable rating and negatives in the single digits. The Nationals comes a close second with slightly higher unfavorables. However, because the poll was taken just before the Redskins pre-season, the survey opens a window on how local fans anticipate the Skins’ performance this season. According to the Post, fans view the team favorably for the most part (55%), but remain cynical (34%) due to “two decades without playoff success, annual feelings of unmet expectations and a sense that the front office lacked a consistent plan.” United falls at the low end with fans (43%) while 53% don’t know enough to form an opinion. Meaning: United captures a die-hard core of fans, but remain largely unnoticed. Is it correct to say we are a roaming pack of fair-weather fans, or is this trend not specific to the D.C. area?

But divided we stand. Not released in the raw data, numbers mentioned in the article show that more than two-thirds of fans who grew up in the area support the Redskins compared to just over 40% of transplants. Likely, these numbers are reflected through other local teams as well. Is it any wonder that on any given sports day, the metro can be overrun with those wearing jerseys from other cities’ teams versus our own?

Whether the media or his own ego is at fault, Dan Snyder is the villain of this poll. Is it shocking that more than half disfavor the Redskins’ owner while a fifth approve of him? But who knows what may happen in the next coming weeks, now that his lawsuit has been dropped and the Redskins’ season has started on a positive note.