Photo by Wally Gobetz

Civic pride, it seems, has been replaced with Natitude. With the Washington Nationals heading to the playoffs for the first time in team history, Mayor Vince Gray said today that from tonight through the end of the team’s postseason run, the John A. Wilson Building will be bathed in red lighting in honor of the team.

“It’s terrific that our Nats have clinched a spot in the playoffs. Next up: the division title,” Gray said in a news release. The Nationals’ magic number to clinch the National League East is eight, meaning the team needs that many wins, losses by the second-place Atlanta Braves or combination thereof.

Much like in New York, where the Empire State Building is often splashed in color to mark various occasions, people walking, biking or driving down the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW will find themselves bathed in the deep red hue of the Nationals.

Technicians will place red coverings over the building’s floodlights, a Gray spokesperson said.