On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, before the Nationals took on the Phillies at the Bobby, the RFK crowd was treated to a performance of the National Anthem by a trio of pre-teen blonds in American flag dresses which had dubbed themselves, or had been dubbed, Clique. In true Sparklemotion style they sang the anthem (and since it was Sunday, God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch), while the scoreboard announced that their names were Ariel, Destiny and Paris. There are many reasons to be ecstatic about the return of baseball to the Washington area. This was not one of them.

There is only one reason for excitement these days, readers, and that is that our team is in the thick of a pennant race in September. This is what baseball is about. Picking up the paper to absorb the minutiae of the wild card standings. Holding your breath over the radio broadcast of a one-run game, because our hometown team can’t find its way onto the television. Rising to give an extended standing ovation to the victors as they take two of three from a hated northern rival. This is what baseball is about.

(AP Photo by Nick Wass)