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Obviously, D.C. is football first, and caps fans/games are NOTHING like Canada, but do you think D.C. can be considered a "hockey town" by American standards?
The Caps have a HUGE following in DC and they consistently sell out games. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the Caps have added some strong talent over the years, including Alex Ovechkin who is always in the conversation as being the best player in hockey. It was a major disappointment to see the Caps bow out in the first round of the playoffs last year (best record in the NHL notwithstanding), but they look to be a strong team for some years to come. Personally, I see a Stanley Cup trophy in their future sometime in the next three years. When that happens, I think it will only strengthen DC's rep as a hockey town.
I'm from "Hockeytown" and I think DC has a ways to go before it is one, whatever that means. It's getting better because the team is better though. I still remember how easy it was to get tickets for the 1998 Finals.
The Redskins are the number one team in town and no other professional franchise is close. The locals bleed burgundy and gold from cradle to grave.
I would even rank the NBA Wizards as number two in terms of followers and fan passion. When the Wizards made the playoffs a few years ago, it seemed like the whole city went crazy. Sports bars were packed with people cheering on The Wiz.
The Capitals have a devoted fan base but the raw numbers cannot match the Wizards. The demographics in the DC area are more suitable to basketball (professional and college) since we have a fairly large African-American population. DC also has many transplants from the Deep South and the West Coast where ice hockey is almost considered an alien sport.
There was a time when I would have rated the DC United soccer team higher on the fan passion and follower scale. We have a growing Hispanic community and many foreign nationals living in the Washington, DC region; the combination is one reason why soccer works here. Lately, the DC United team has been awful and attendance has dropped at RFK Stadium. The Caps are more popular than the soccer team at this point.
Local Team Sports Popularity Rankings:
Number #1 Redskins
Number #2 Wizards
Number #3 Georgetown Hoyas & Maryland Terps basketball
Number #4 Capitals
Number #5 DC United
Number #6 Nationals
Number #7 Mystics
Number #8 Freedom (women's professional soccer)
The Redskins are the number one team in town and no other professional franchise is close. The locals bleed burgundy and gold from cradle to grave.
I would even rank the NBA Wizards as number two in terms of followers and fan passion. When the Wizards made the playoffs a few years ago, it seemed like the whole city went crazy. Sports bars were packed with people cheering on The Wiz.
The Capitals have a devoted fan base but the raw numbers cannot match the Wizards. The demographics in the DC area are more suitable to basketball (professional and college) since we have a fairly large African-American population. DC also has many transplants from the Deep South and the West Coast where ice hockey is almost considered an alien sport.
There was a time when I would have rated the DC United soccer team higher on the fan passion and follower scale. We have a growing Hispanic community and many foreign nationals living in the Washington, DC region; the combination is one reason why soccer works here. Lately, the DC United team has been awful and attendance has dropped at RFK Stadium. The Caps are more popular than the soccer team at this point.
Local Team Sports Popularity Rankings:
Number #1 Redskins
Number #2 Wizards
Number #3 Georgetown Hoyas & Maryland Terps basketball
Number #4 Capitals
Number #5 DC United
Number #6 Nationals
Number #7 Mystics
Number #8 Freedom (women's professional soccer)
I think the Caps are much more popular than the Wizards. The Wizards don't ever sell out whereas the Caps do almost every game. I never see people walking around in Wizards gear or at the bars, but I see that with the Caps during every game. Redskins are definitely #1, but I see that Caps as #2.
I would say that right now, the Capitals are more popular than the Wizards.
The Wizards probably have a higher ceiling for how popular they could be though.
In my opinion I also think the NBA seems to be losing popularity and the NHL seems to be gaining it. I'm not talking DC, but nationwide. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's just something I've seemed to notice.
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