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The problem with the Nats is not DC itself but rather the Lerner family. It appears this will be the 2nd year in a row that the Nats will not be able to sign their #1 draft pick. Blame that on the Lerner family, who's to cheap to sign draftees let alone quality free agents. Also, last year the Lerner family refused to pay the DC gov't stadium rent, claiming the new stadium wasn't 100% completed.
What are you trying to do...get baseball owners to reverse history? Connie Mack completely dismantled a championship Philadelphia A's team. Calvin Griffiths, when he owned the Twins, used to throw dimes around like manhole covers (a great old expression, don't you think?) So the Lerners are just carrying on with the tradition in Washington.
At least the owners are making some effort. They signed Ryan Zimmerman to a big extension, signed Adam Dunn in the off season, and were strongly courting Manny Ramirez to come to Washington. So yeah, they suck, but at least they are not like the Pirates who trade every halfway decent player they have.
Didn't they only go for Dunn once Teixeira laughed them off?
Correct. They were able to sign Dunn to a relative bargain deal, considering how good an offensive player he is. (Then again, maybe they saw him play in the outfield before they signed him to the bargain deal.)
After starting the "Nationals are cursed" thread earlier this year, it is great to see the team doing much better. What I meant by cursed was that the Nats seemed to get a lot of freakish bad breaks that would lead to offensive explosions for the other team.
The last 2 months have seen a total turn around, and the signing of Stephen Strasburg has added to the optimism of many for the future. I just hope strasburg is worth all the hype.
Give the team time to establish a true minor league system and to attract more free agents.They will improve and so will attendance.Especially with newer DC residents.Normally people who have lived in an area for a long time and follow a sports team wont change their loyalties but a transplant who liked another team from another area might follow the new team as their second and eventually maybe their preferred team.My father moved to a town north of Tampa a year ago and even though he is a Yankee fan,he also has the Rays now as his 2nd team.Not what i'd do but i've seen this frequently.
Give the team time to establish a true minor league system and to attract more free agents.They will improve and so will attendance.Especially with newer DC residents.Normally people who have lived in an area for a long time and follow a sports team wont change their loyalties but a transplant who liked another team from another area might follow the new team as their second and eventually maybe their preferred team.My father moved to a town north of Tampa a year ago and even though he is a Yankee fan,he also has the Rays now as his 2nd team.Not what i'd do but i've seen this frequently.
Heck, I'm a Phillies fan and not going to become a Nationals fan in any more than a casual manner, but I have gone to see the Nationals play in person a total of 36 times (24 times not against the Phillies) over the last 2 seasons living in the DC area.
Heck, I'm a Phillies fan and not going to become a Nationals fan in any more than a casual manner, but I have gone to see the Nationals play in person a total of 36 times (24 times not against the Phillies) over the last 2 seasons living in the DC area.
Did I say everyone would be come a Nationals fan who moved there? I said people that move there are more inclined,also what happens if those people that move to the area have kids? If they stay there a while the base will DEFINITELY grow.
I have been reading up on the history of the burgandy and gold and realized something.
The Redskins grew with DC! As the city gained more and more populations in the area during the 70s and the 80s, the team was riding a wave of upward success. This culminated in winning 3 superbowls during the 80s! This was also a time that the other home grown franchise barely existed in terms of fan support.
If the Nats want to make SIGNIFIGANCT inroads with casual fanbases, NOW is the time.
The Redskins are the worst they have been in over 4 decades, people are fed up with Dan Snyder and his terrible management. People need winners, so they flock to Verizon Center and cheer on Ovetchkin and the Caps. The ownership has smartly invested and it shows on the ice.
It's less talked about but I also see that in Northern Virginia fansand the Virginia Tech Hokies. I don't know how well supported UVA was in it's heyday, but really this isn't a college football area. And they have as much gear at Wal-Mart as the Redskins do!
There is a ton of transients who come from many places of the country to DC, but the same was with Phoenix and look what happened when the Diamondbacks and Cardinals went big.
I don't know about sports radio, but the Washington Post gives surprisingly good coverage to a team as sorry as the Nats. It's almost like they are DYING for them to be relevant!
The city itself is growing at a decent clip and the suburbs are as healthy as always, it's a great time to stake your claim in the sports world!
With the large wealthy population in the suburbs and parts of the city, the Nats can make money but if they want to really start something they better start it soon before the Redskins snatch up all the casual fans again.
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some effort
