Ted vs. Dan

I'm not going to claim to be a big Caps fan. After all, I like hockey even less than I like baseball. But I was rooting for them last night, and even felt disappointed when they lost.

Here's what I really took away from the game, though: Ted Leonsis is the man.

I love the idea of an owner of a team also being a superfan, and in D.C., this isn't a phenomenon we get to experience very much. Dan Snyder is...well, Dan Snyder. We'll get to him in a minute. Abe Pollin has always run the Wizards more like a business than a sports team, and besides, we don't see him out in public very much these days. It's too soon to tell with the Lerners, but I suspect that they see their team as more of a toy and/or an investment than anything else.

So seeing Leonsis looking as absolutely devastated as he did after the loss made for both an extremely surprising and an extremely powerful image.

In contrast, think about how Snyder reacts after the Redskins lose a big game. That is, when he actually stays until the end instead of fleeing his luxury box in anger in the middle of the fourth quarter. He just sits there, glowering down at the field, as if he's trying to decide who to fire.

I don't think they've ever shown him after a playoff loss, but if they did, do you imagine that Snyder would have been near tears, as Leonsis was? Do you imagine he'd need to be hugged? Do you imagine he'd show any recognizable human emotion whatsoever? I doubt it. I tend to think he'd be looking for furniture to break or small animals (or an inconsequential Redskins employee or two) to kill.

Don't get me wrong, I know that Snyder has been a Redskins fan all his life, and that he's passionate about the team. But it's the type of passion a guy has for his new Porche. And I think most of whatever devotion he has for the team stems from the fact that he now owns it, and that his fortunes therefore rise and fall depending on how well it does. Whereas, I get the sense that if Leonsis were just some guy instead of the owner, he would have taken last night's loss just as hard as he did.

Finally, just ask yourself this: Have you ever seen Dan Snyder wear a Redskins jersey to a game? No, of course not. And you never will. Because he's not a fan. He's a suit.

"Hey, come on, Ted. Cheer up. At least your fans wouldn't push you in front of a bus. Can Snyder say that?"