Re: Maybe I'll go, we'll see I think most of the rest of the world would disagree with you there. To each their own, but for the record, I dont think we're the ones who are 'wrong as hell' here. Typical Sox fan
I will be a season-ticket holder for United next year, once we have the seats thing figured out. Can't do season tickets for 2 teams, but I will be at the Nationals' opener, as well as the enitre Cubs series in May - and the Giants series in September when Bonds is chasing 755. And I'm sure, given the number of friends I have that work in DC who simply just love going to a baseball game (not for the sport, as much as just going, having a beer, sitting outside, etc.,) I'm sure there will be several others that I go to. I also live 20-25 minutes from Oriole Park, and will go to plenty of games there, too. We tend to go to several games in Frederick and Bowie, as well. Their fireworks nights are worth a trip. It'd be kind of cool to have season tickets for both United and the Nationals, and have them be the same seat.
Re: Maybe I'll go, we'll see Oh, I agree that the city is getting screwed. If this were in VA, I'd let my reps know that it's not OK to spend public money to make private businesses rich. I don't see what's so hard about that, either. If fact, it's interesting to me to see the resistance to the soccer stadium compared to the resistance to the baseball stadium considering that one is publically financed, and the other is (likely to be) privately financed. I think the city should help with sports teams in the areas where it's required (infrastructure) but not with capital improvements for the private business itself. Just like any other business in the city. Of course, Baseball wouldn't have come here, then, but so what? I just don't like to be sueezed, and that's what MLB's doing to DC. But I might go to a game. Maybe. Glad I don't have to bail out the stadium when they have revenue shortfalls in a few years for the interest on the bonds. (BTW, isn't Camden Yards gov't built, too? How did they do financially?)
no way in hell I'm going to the opener. You know it's going to be an absolute mess getting into and out of the place unless you take the metro. (and Metro from Northern VA for me isn't exactly convenient) I'll make it to a couple games for sure, but you couldn't pay me to go to the opener. I'll wait til the crowds die down. Or if they don't, at least til they get re-acclimated to them at RFK.
Re: Maybe I'll go, we'll see Well now he can at least sleep easy at night. Who knows, Johnny Pesky is an icon around here. Give'm a little time. Maybe he'll eventually go from one bad run in away from being murdered to beloved old timer. But on topic. The Nationals will be interesting. In the battle ground of professional sports DC and the Nationals will be face to face. On one hand you have the model franchise of one league, albiet in a very small league. On the other hand you have a franchise that's trying to undergo a rebirth in a very touchy and competitive environment. Imagine if United starts outdrawing the Nationals if they recieve Expos-like support... what a symbolic gain that will be.
I would argue that the Nationals are mere cannon fodder, 3 games a toss, to the home teams of the quadrennial vagrants who populate a lot of DC.
Re: Maybe I'll go, we'll see Nah, sorry pal. Outside of Beantown and NYC, baseball really isn't that hot anymore.
To answer Mike's earlier question, I won't go to the opener but I'll definitely go to some Nats games.
Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die! One of greatest of all time. Great guy, too! For all you who don't know, this is the guy that Cal Ripken modeled his career after. As for the Nats, I love the name. Now, they just need the National Bohemian sign in the outfield. Right next to DCUs championship banners. I reserve judgment on the field arrangement DCU games until I see how they plan on putting in the temporary seats and the grass trays. But I'll tell you this, I'll be super, f-ing p!ssed if they screw this up for DCU. So, knowing the DCSEC, I'll be super, f-ing p!ssed.
Whenever I see Willie Stargell, I get "We are family" stuck in my head, and the burned in image of those yellow unis.
Re: Maybe I'll go, we'll see Watch it Natty, there are two of us around here . I'm not going because as a Sox fan national league games are boring. Besides it is more fun to go to Camden Yards and take over their stadium. Also as I have said before I just don't think the Nationals will succeed. I only watch Sox games anyways.
Oh, I don't know. Just think of how the accoustics of RFK will amplify the crowd chants of 'Go Nats, Go Nats'. Really...think about it
I love United, but to expect much deference from baseball is extremely unrealistic. I can't figure out what there is to be angry about. The fact that we've said "we don't want to play over dirt" and their answer wasn't "tough" shows a respect that wouldn't likely be forthcoming in other markets. In less than one week, they have taken over 13,000 $300 deposits for season tickets to an 81-game schedule that range from $567 to $7,290. If United announced its survival was predicated on raising 13,000 X $300 between now and next April, there very likely would be no DC United. They collected it in a week without paying a cent of advertising. Although, ironically, three countries who have hosted two of the last three World Cups (US, Korea, Japan), all attend baseball in much greater numbers than they do soccer. Some other thoughts in response to Natty and others... We don't have a schedule yet to rearrange. Asthetically brutal? Try being a Dallas fan playing in that high school stadium. Try being a New England fan, where your view of the game each week has the backdrop of a completely empty stadium (did you know that one sideline is closed during Revs games?). Try being a KC or Metros fan where you play in 70-80,000 seaters such that even your big crowds seem like a drop in the bucket. Will this make our gameday experience marginally worse for a couple of years? Yeah. But, damn, it should just make us recognize how lucky we've been. Every other market the size of DC in the country has a baseball team. If we were anywhere else, we'd have been sharing either with them or with the Redskins for the last nine years. Their cheap tickets will be cheaper (at $7, less than half of our cheapest $16 ticket), so they're actually more family friendly. The studies that "have shown" things usually say that people would still spend their entertainment dollar elsewhere in the area, meaning little new taxes, etc. However, in this case, the bulk of that money would otherwise be spent in Maryland and Virginia, not the District, clearly making this area different than places where the money would all be spent in the same state with or without the stadium. Since people who work in the District but live in MD or VA can't be subject to a commuter tax, I don't mind if they spend some more money here. I'm thankful that Abe Pollin paid as much of his own money as he did for MCI Center, but even if it was fully publically financed, the good it's done in Chinatown, Penn Quarter, and beyond would have been well worth it, in my opinion.
I don't think it's necessary to bash baseball. I'm a fan of baseball among most other sports including soccer, and I think they can co-exist. Hating baseball doesn't mean you love soccer even more, so why bother. Soccer and baseball fans are not mutually exclusive. If you're bitter towards baseball fans for not supporting soccer, or envious that DC is bending over backwards for baseball, you need a reality check. I sincerely hope that one day soccer is on equal footing with the other major sports in this country but it'll take time so why be bitter now? As a previous poster said, the RFK atmosphere is 10x better than what we have here in New England, dirt infield or none.