Baseball returns to Washington

by **EastStang** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:42 am

I got my Nationals tickets last night. Several friends and I split a couple of season tickets. Its really going to happen. Great seats, hot summer nights, cool suds, and seeing the senior circuit. Wow.

by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:56 pm

"senior circuit"?

by **EastStang** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:16 pm

The National League is the older league and has long had the nickname "the senior circuit".

by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:51 pm

oooohhhhhh -

u really must be a baseball guy?

good for u!

great sport -

FUNNY u should bring that up -

my 11 yr old son plays little league & like many leagues, they use major league baseball teams /

needless to say, they already have a senior team called the nationals with all the caps & unis to match -

your new team will be fun to watch this yr even though they are the expos in a nice much needed make-over!

good luck & go giants & a's!!!

by **JasonB** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:31 pm

If you are looking for a quality sport and a quality team to watch at RFK, go see DC United. Much more entertaining and a lot better.

by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:38 pm

what's that? dc united?

by PK » Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:03 pm

Professional soccer.

by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:09 pm

oh jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee - come on guys -

soccer has been trying to get a grip in the good ol u.s. of a. for 50+ yrs & they still can't draw a plugged nickle -

once u get into the high school ranks & up its falls off the radar screen -

ok - i'm now off my soap box & thx - pk - for educating & sophisticating me

by **Roach** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:57 pm

"once u get into the high school ranks & up its falls off the radar screen...."
If you'd get out and support SMU soccer (which we ALL should be doing anyway), you'd know that's not true.

And DC United is actually a lot of fun to watch, and not just because of Freddy Adu, although his talent level is outrageous.

And while I like the idea of the Washington Expos playing in front of some fans, D.C. fans have shown (see the Twins and Rangers, each of which once was the Washington Senators) that they just won't support their own team. Washington is part of Orioles country.

by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 7:13 pm

but back to your original statement - soccer is soccer in this country & it will never grow more than that / different people, different culture & THANK GOD!!

AMERICANS don't relate & the crowds are the proof in the puddin as a great wise man sayeth.

by **Roach** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 7:18 pm

NavyCrimson wrote: .... AMERICANS don't relate & the crowds are the proof in the puddin as a great wise man sayeth.

That's a pretty strong indictment. We, as a country, don't appreciate soccer, yet we turn out en masse to watch nascar drivers turn left for hours and watch people play poker on TV. Scary.

by **NavyCrimson** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 7:23 pm

i think u missed the point about soccer - its never been a strong spectator sport & it ain't going to change in the forseeable future

by **JasonB** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 11:24 pm

MLS averages more fans per game than the NHL. They also get better ratings for the games on TV. Look it up, its true. It is the only sport where ratings have improved over the last 5 years. And that is without ANY public discussion or coverage in the media.

LA, Dallas, and Columbus have built stadiums for SOCCER. Chicago, Colorado, and Salt Lake will build theirs in the next two years, and DC and NY will follow after that. The City Council in DC is more excited about building the soccer stadium than they are the baseball stadium because 1) MLS gives them a fair deal on building the stadium and doesn't levy the entire burden on the community and 2) with the surrounding fields the development provides, the MLS stadiums actually give something back to the communities, providing youth facilities and supporting youth tornaments that bring in megabucks to cities.

How many stadiums have been built for the NHL? And, in case your are counting, MLS is building more stadiums than MLB is...

Don't underestimate soccer. If it ever garners coverage in the media, it will explode more than the NHL ever did.

by **EastStang** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:20 am

DC United has a strong fan base in Washington's very vibrant Central and South American population. Baseball did not fail in Washington, its owners failed. First, in the 1950's Calvin Griffith left DC for Minnesota, not because of money but because he wanted to go where there were lots of "white people". Washington fans were not happy when the Twins won the pennant a couple of years later. Washington then got an expansion team in 1960 which was almost as bad as the 1960 Mets. In 1969, they were over .500 drew 900,000 fans, (in a stadium that was located in a part of town where riots occurred the previous summer). In 1970, the new Owner traded away the left side of infield, his most promising young pitcher, for Denny McLain whose arm was dead and lost 20 games. Those player were keys to the Tigers winning the AL East the next year. He also traded his second baseman and closer to the A's who won the Al west the next year for minor leaguers. Don't buy that Orioles argument, that's utter BS.

by **Corso** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:26 am

JasonB wrote:MLS averages more fans per game than the NHL....

Well yeah, NOW they do (no hockey .... dammit). But is that normally true? I've been to a bunch of Burn games where there were nowhere near as many fans as there were at Stars games or other NHL games I'd watch on TV.

Hockey on TV .... we should be gearing up for the Stanley Cup now. Instead, we're going to be handed two months of NBA playoffs, with only about two or three teams that deserve to be in them. How depressing.

Baseball returns to Washington

Baseball returns to Washington

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