The Washington Nationals. The District of Columbia. Each a true reflection of the other. A match made in heaven – or hell, depending on your opinion of both. The parallels are startling, really. Their story is one of twins separated at birth only to reunite years later. One raised in DC, on borrowed land. The other, a country away in Montreal. Together again. At long last, together again.
It took time for the Nats to make this place home, as it no doubt took the Capital some time to come into its own. The seasons housed in RFK spent awkwardly, like wearing someone else’s shoes. The new stadium seemed to come out of thin air. Plop down it went. Just like DC itself, dropped in the middle of swampy wetlands. The only major metropolitan area and international powerhouse that developed a city around it, rather than the opposite; a powerhouse emerging from a developed city. It took the efforts of the entire Major League to bring one here. The other depended on the action of a strong centralized “federal” government. For those looking in, both concepts seemed somewhat half-baked.
So maybe you are growing convinced that the District and the Nats share a few traits. However, my argument thus far has been one based on generalities. What about the specifics, you ask. Well, consider the following:
(Former) General Manager, Jim bowden = (Former) Mayor, Marion Barry. So he was never actually convicted of corruption. That doesn’t stop everyone from accepting as truth that he was one corrupt SOB. One fell from grace via a prostitute and crack, the other over allegations of skimming bonus checks from dominican prospects. Either way, definitely not the guy you want steering the ship. Sure, they both have their apologists (more generously called “supporters”), but at the end of the day they will be remembered as those that brought shame upon their franchises. Thankfully, neither are still in charge, but the mess they left in their wake is visible everywhere.
Ryan Zimmerman = “Downtown Washington.” He is the “face of the franchise” – the first thing people think of when they think of the Nats. Everyone has a stake in his well being. He is also painfully expensive. You have to secure that kind of investment, so it doesn’t seem too out of the ordinary to see teams of heavily armed guards patrolling his perimeter. If you live here, you take him for granted. Don’t forget, franchise caliber third-basemen are hard to find, and not everyone has one. Every once in a while you remember he is down there and so you’ll go to simply gaze in amazement. Then the tourists start to drive you crazy and you head back up to the real part of town. There is something a little too easy or common about liking him. As a fan, you have way more street-cred if you like a guy like Elijah Dukes. Continues after the jump (more…)
