Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is a random question, but as a transplant who does not come from a hometown with an NFL squad, I will need to adopt one of the DC squads when I (most likely) move to Arlington next year. I was wondering if it would be bad if I picked Baltimore instead of the Redskins. I absolutely hate the Redskins' franchise name (it's incredibly racist) + I have an unhealthy obsession with The Wire and Baltimore's defense-oriented philosophy (Ed Reed has been my favorite NFL player for a while, although he has moved on now), so that's why I'm thinking that I'll take up the Ravens and Nationals instead of the Skins and Nats. The Ravens stadium is only 20 mins further than the Redskins' from Arlington too, so I'm not sure if Ravens would be that much of a stretch, but I'm wondering if it would seem too bandwagoney, especially since the Ravens won last year and the Redskins are one of the worst teams in the league this year (although Baltimore definitely blew up their squad and are a wildcard team at best this year as well).
Cheer for whomever you want. Walking around in a Ravens jersey in Arlington, VA is no problem. Cowboys, Eagles and Giants fans get dirty stares and a few offensive words thrown their way however. The Ravens have no rivalry with the Skins and the fans are on friendly terms overall.
I also think you mean cheering for the Orioles baseball team as opposed to the Nationals. The baseball thing is a bit more complicated. The Nationals have been in DC only since 2005. For many, many years the Baltimore Orioles management have convinced MLB to block any relocation efforts to Washington, DC. A professional ball club could have been here 20 or 30 years ago. Because of this, Nationals baseball fans are sorta bitter against the Orioles and their ire is especially directed towards Peter Angelos.
Territory matters MORE with the baseball teams. If you live in Virginia or in The District, you are expected to wear the red Nationals colors and the curly W hat. All of Northern Virginia and DC are Nationals territory plain and simple. The suburbs on the Maryland side are real messy however. People on the same block will either wear the Baltimore black & orange colors or the Nationals rockin' red. Walk around Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville or visit any sports bar in Montgomery County and you will see O's and Nat's fans in the same room. Cartoon bird hats mix with curly W caps.
As an Orioles fan, I take a very harsh view of Nationals supporters who live in Maryland zip codes. The Orioles wear the Maryland state flag on their uniforms and and as far as I am concerned, the Orioles territory covers every square mile in the state. Even though Silver Spring is right across the border from DC and is located much closer to Nationals Park, Silver Spring should be 100 percent Black & Orange. Any Marylander caught with Nats gear is a TRAITOR. If you support the Orioles while living in Arlington then be prepared for some ridicule.
Back to the football thing...The Baltimore Ravens have made major inroads with NFL fans in Montgomery and PG Counties. I am definitely seeing more people sporting the Ravens threads on game day in stores and the streets of Silver Spring. It's ironic that FedEx Field is located in PG County, Maryland because I bet most of the locals living near the Skins home wear the Purple Raven colors or they break out the Cowboys gear when it comes to the Rivalry Game. The bulk of the Washington fan base commutes from Virginia to watch their Skins play on Sunday.
The Skins really should have a stadium in DC or Northern Virginia. The Skins management realizes this situation. Dan Snyder will likely relocate his team in 10 years or less if DC or Virginia offer the right package of incentives.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumpman023
Hi all,
This is a random question, but as a transplant who does not come from a hometown with an NFL squad, I will need to adopt one of the DC squads when I (most likely) move to Arlington next year. I was wondering if it would be bad if I picked Baltimore instead of the Redskins. I absolutely hate the Redskins' franchise name (it's incredibly racist) + I have an unhealthy obsession with The Wire and Baltimore's defense-oriented philosophy (Ed Reed has been my favorite NFL player for a while, although he has moved on now), so that's why I'm thinking that I'll take up the Ravens and Nationals instead of the Skins and Nats. The Ravens stadium is only 20 mins further than the Redskins' from Arlington too, so I'm not sure if Ravens would be that much of a stretch, but I'm wondering if it would seem too bandwagoney, especially since the Ravens won last year and the Redskins are one of the worst teams in the league this year (although Baltimore definitely blew up their squad and are a wildcard team at best this year as well).
There are so many transplants here, especially in NoVA, that you're not going to get any weird looks in Arlington for wearing Ravens stuff. Plenty of people wear Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys gear here too.
Some in DC prefer not rooting for the openly racist sports team, so there is that as well. The owner of the washington football team is also a massive tool, who is also...openly pretty openly racist. Many of us are transplants from other cities, or have native friends, and kind of find the whole thing a bit disgusting.
Seriously DC can have a football team without the racism.
Also a team that wins superbowls and is named after a literary reference kind of rocks.
PS...Nationals I am cool with.
Some in DC prefer not rooting for the openly racist sports team, so there is that as well. The owner of the washington football team is also a massive tool, who is also...openly pretty openly racist. Many of us are transplants from other cities, or have native friends, and kind of find the whole thing a bit disgusting.
Seriously DC can have a football team without the racism.
Also a team that wins superbowls and is named after a literary reference kind of rocks.
PS...Nationals I am cool with.
Yeah, the racist team name that 90% of Native Americans don't find offensive.
Yeah, the racist team name that 90% of Native Americans don't find offensive.
This is completely making up statistics. Most native Americans find native american sports team names offensive, with the DC team topping their list. They have entire civil rights groups around the effort of removing such names. How many native Americans have you talked to, especially community leaders? From what I can tell is many of the people who accept such name never met a native american in their life, or even talked to them on this issue. Instead they either deny the fact, make up BS excuses or justifications, or make up information, as you just did.
You are buying into the false myth this is accepted, it's not.
If you grew up without any geographic connection or other tie to any NFL franchise, then I am certainly not going to fault you for picking a team based on totally random criteria such as your favorite TV show, the colors of the team, or whatever.
But The Wire started airing in 2002, also the same year Ed Reed started playing for the Ravens. Only now in 2013, the year they happened to win the Super Bowl, do they become your favorite team? It seems like bandwagon jumping to me. I just hope that if you adopt them you don't drop them if they become terrible.
If you grew up without any geographic connection or other tie to any NFL franchise, then I am certainly not going to fault you for picking a team based on totally random criteria such as your favorite TV show, the colors of the team, or whatever.
But The Wire started airing in 2002, also the same year Ed Reed started playing for the Ravens. Only now in 2013, the year they happened to win the Super Bowl, do they become your favorite team? It seems like bandwagon jumping to me. I just hope that if you adopt them you don't drop them if they become terrible.
Ed Reed has been my favorite for a while. As for The Wire, let's be real: most people didn't realize the brilliance of it's show while it was running. It's only after it ended that it became a cult favorite. As for the Ravens "suddenly" becoming my team. Again, I've always had some affinity for them since they had my favorite player, but I never had an NFL team to cheer from given my hometown, so I never openly declared them as my "favorite team". If you think a DC fan being a Baltimore fan is bandwagoning, imagine a west coaster rooting for the Ravens. That's even worse, especially since they've generally been solid every reason since winning the super bowl back in what, 2000, compared to lots of west coast squads (I'm looking at you Oakland)?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
