ESPN Could Live Without Nationals

‘jumping in vain’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Gene Wojchiechowski of ESPN thinks we could all do without the Nats, putting them atop the list of 50 Things We Can Do Without in Sports. Now, the Nationals are bad, and I’ll admit that they’re on their way to eclipsing the 1962 Mets for the worst single season record of all time, but really? We have a beautiful stadium here now, and we’re supposed to ditch the team? For what?

Well, that got me thinking:

Give it to D.C. United. Seriously. Best Soccer park in the US, hands down, and United will probably make the playoffs this season, and have a decent shot to win it all.
World’s Best Outdoor Concert Venue. It seats more than Nissan, and it’s on the Metro. Need I say more? Strip out some of the upper deck seats and make a cool lawn-type seating area…
Bring back the pillories. C’mon, tell me you wouldn’t pay admission to throw rotten produce at Hariette Walters?

What do you think we should do?

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.

13 thoughts on “ESPN Could Live Without Nationals”

I think we should tell ESPN’s Gene Wojchiechowski to stuff it. :)

Hang on a minute. Wojciechowski said we could do without the “Washington Natinals” … perhaps this is the bizzaro D.C. baseball team that is in the top of the NL East and has the best record in baseball.

I agree with the first comment. They may be horrible, but they’re our horrible. And I would add they are morally superior to the Orioles. So there!

Brian, you are a scholar and a gentleman.

:) I think you are on to something Tom! Technically you could do all three, but I’m totally in favor of #1. Vamos United!

What, did ESPN run out of Brett Farve stories, New York Yankees highlights, Lebron James dunks, Barry Bonds testimony, AND nonsensical, unsubstantiated Jon Clayton rumors ALL ON THE SAME DAY? They reported on something else? And it was sports related? I’m SHOCKED!

I have about as much faith in ESPN’s Gene Wojchiechowski, as I do in the Nats bullpen.

Baseball is a game of patience. Just wait, fellow Nats fans… Just wait… The Strasburg era begins on Saturday.

I love the Nats, I do. But they’re driving me crazy.

I think we should give DC Baseball a chance. I’m a transplant and a Yankees fan and I do see and feel that the DC area has no real love for the Nats but even the Nats know they need time to develop in to a competitive team. If in 10 years the Nats are still in the same boat they are in today I’d vote for a multi use DC United/Concert events arena be made out of the now very sterile Nats Park!

I’ve enjoyed a few great afternoons and evenings at the park this season and plan to attend more…

Gotta read the article- Ed called it, he says he could do without the “Natinals”, as in the misspelling on the jerseys earlier in the season- NOT the Nationals as a team.

I think he said the “Natinals” as a way of mocking the woeful, hapless baseball club residing in DC. So hapless even their uniforms do not reliably spell their names properly. Since that’s how sportswriters have been using “Natinals” pretty much since the incident that originated it.

As a huge DC United fan, I would LOVE a nice new stadium. Doesn’t look like we’re getting one any time soon… :-|

But I highly doubt this is an option…So, we’ll stick it out with our beloved Nats.

See, I don’t think this was a shot at the Nats in particular. Why bother? Yes, they’re a bad team- but why pick on them as opposed to, say, Pittsburgh, or Kansas City, or Colorado? To me, the only thing that really sets the Nats apart from any of those teams is the spelling gaff.

Speaking of which, it’s “gaffe.” ;)

But the reason that you pick on the Nats over the other teams is that while they’ve had sustained levels of losing, they’ve spread their terribleness out over several seasons. As a professional sports writer for national media, he has to cover ALL the teams, and he’s had time to get used to the perennial losers.

It’s not just that the Nats are a losing team (and the Pirates are doing noticeably better than the Nats right now), it’s that the Nats are concentrating so much woe into one year. They’ve been lackluster in previous years, but this year is… different.

On the other hand, it’s possible he was trying to make a point about how over-done the Natinals joke is by sportswriters in general. But I seriously doubt he’s saying we could do without the spelling problem, because it was a one-time thing and got fixed weeks ago. It would no longer be a timely joke.

Hal Mangold on June 2, 2009 at 11:14 am said:

I think we should tell ESPN’s Gene Wojchiechowski to stuff it. :)
Ed on June 2, 2009 at 11:38 am said:

Hang on a minute. Wojciechowski said we could do without the “Washington Natinals” … perhaps this is the bizzaro D.C. baseball team that is in the top of the NL East and has the best record in baseball.
Brian on June 2, 2009 at 11:38 am said:

I agree with the first comment. They may be horrible, but they’re our horrible. And I would add they are morally superior to the Orioles. So there!
WFY on June 2, 2009 at 11:43 am said:

Brian, you are a scholar and a gentleman.
kasdc on June 2, 2009 at 11:51 am said:

:) I think you are on to something Tom! Technically you could do all three, but I’m totally in favor of #1. Vamos United!
Kevin on June 2, 2009 at 11:53 am said:

What, did ESPN run out of Brett Farve stories, New York Yankees highlights, Lebron James dunks, Barry Bonds testimony, AND nonsensical, unsubstantiated Jon Clayton rumors ALL ON THE SAME DAY? They reported on something else? And it was sports related? I’m SHOCKED!

I have about as much faith in ESPN’s Gene Wojchiechowski, as I do in the Nats bullpen.

Baseball is a game of patience. Just wait, fellow Nats fans… Just wait… The Strasburg era begins on Saturday.
Tom Bridge on June 2, 2009 at 12:06 pm said:

I love the Nats, I do. But they’re driving me crazy.
Brendan on June 2, 2009 at 12:10 pm said:

I think we should give DC Baseball a chance. I’m a transplant and a Yankees fan and I do see and feel that the DC area has no real love for the Nats but even the Nats know they need time to develop in to a competitive team. If in 10 years the Nats are still in the same boat they are in today I’d vote for a multi use DC United/Concert events arena be made out of the now very sterile Nats Park!

I’ve enjoyed a few great afternoons and evenings at the park this season and plan to attend more…
TheDenverite on June 2, 2009 at 1:20 pm said:

Gotta read the article- Ed called it, he says he could do without the “Natinals”, as in the misspelling on the jerseys earlier in the season- NOT the Nationals as a team.
Tiffany Bridge on June 2, 2009 at 2:12 pm said:

I think he said the “Natinals” as a way of mocking the woeful, hapless baseball club residing in DC. So hapless even their uniforms do not reliably spell their names properly. Since that’s how sportswriters have been using “Natinals” pretty much since the incident that originated it.
Cassy L. on June 2, 2009 at 3:11 pm said:

As a huge DC United fan, I would LOVE a nice new stadium. Doesn’t look like we’re getting one any time soon… :-|

But I highly doubt this is an option…So, we’ll stick it out with our beloved Nats.
TheDenverite on June 2, 2009 at 4:48 pm said:

See, I don’t think this was a shot at the Nats in particular. Why bother? Yes, they’re a bad team- but why pick on them as opposed to, say, Pittsburgh, or Kansas City, or Colorado? To me, the only thing that really sets the Nats apart from any of those teams is the spelling gaff.
Tiffany Bridge on June 2, 2009 at 4:54 pm said:

Speaking of which, it’s “gaffe.” ;)

But the reason that you pick on the Nats over the other teams is that while they’ve had sustained levels of losing, they’ve spread their terribleness out over several seasons. As a professional sports writer for national media, he has to cover ALL the teams, and he’s had time to get used to the perennial losers.

It’s not just that the Nats are a losing team (and the Pirates are doing noticeably better than the Nats right now), it’s that the Nats are concentrating so much woe into one year. They’ve been lackluster in previous years, but this year is… different.

On the other hand, it’s possible he was trying to make a point about how over-done the Natinals joke is by sportswriters in general. But I seriously doubt he’s saying we could do without the spelling problem, because it was a one-time thing and got fixed weeks ago. It would no longer be a timely joke.