The headline made me chuckle, but come on. I'm not saying the local media should be cheerleaders for the sports teams they cover. But blatant mocking strikes me as equally inappropriate, especially when the team in question is merely hapless, as opposed to stupid (i.e., the Redskins).
Because of the added security, it took about fifteen minutes just to get inside the stadium. The Secret Service wasn't fucking around, either. Every bag was emptied and the contents sorted through. People were asked to turn on cell phones to prove that they were, in fact, cell phones. Like a lot of people, I have both my work badge and my SmarTrip card in a plastic holder. The guy inspecting my stuff actually looked in between the two cards. I'm not sure what he thought I might be hiding there, but hooray thoroughness, I guess.
McNabb was obviously a popular topic of conversation. Philly fans were full of false bravado about the trade, and I know it was false, because they were trying way too hard (i.e., "Thank you so much for taking him!", "He's your problem now!", etc.). A few people wore McNabb jerseys to the game. One guy put tape over McNabb's name, and wrote "37th Draft Pick, 2010." That was funny.
On the way to my seat, a Phillies fan--who, in a shocking development, was already half-drunk--noticed my Nats cap, came up, put his arm around me, and asked how it felt rooting for a crappy team. I just said, "You get used to it," which seemed to throw him off his game, like he was expecting me to take offense, deny the Nats' crappiness, and challenge him to a fight for the honor of my team. At that point, he did a 180, and admitted that it wasn't that long ago that the Phillies sucked, and who knows, with Strasburg (which he slurred, "Straaaasbrug") maybe the Nats might turn it around, too. I'm glad he turned out to not be a complete asshole, but Jesus, if you're going to be "That Guy," commit to the bit, you know?
That little red speck is the President of the United States. When he donned his White Sox cap after taking the mound, a disapproving murmur went through the crowd, but I don't really see what the big deal was. Are we going to insist that upon moving to D.C., Obama was magically supposed to become a Nats fan? I've been living in this area for almost 25 years, and I'm barely a Nats fan.
The game itself sucked. I have Ryan Howard on my fantasy team, so it wasn't a total loss. For anyone not from Philly or who didn't have Ryan Howard on their fantasy team, it must have really sucked.
On the way out of the stadium after the eighth inning, I passed by a situation that seemed to be on the verge of escalating. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but it appeared to involve a thrown beer bottle. The guy in the stripped shirt (a Phillies fan) had obviously had a few, and the usher seemed to think he was responsible, and kept trying to get to the bottom of what had happened. At one point, his far-more-sober friend tried to lead him away when the usher's back was turned, but it's hard to make a getaway while burdened with a drunk friend. So when the usher noticed them sneaking off, she was able to quickly jump in front of them and stop them until security arrived.
A minute later, security did arrive, and a wild-eyed Nats fan ran up the stairs and started demanding to know who had thrown the bottle at him. But given all the yellow shirts that were present, I could tell that there probably wasn't going to be a brawl (or even a mildly interesting confrontation), and decided to leave.
So, a fun day was had by all. Unless you were a Nats fan.
(In the interest of maintaining harmony inside the ballpark, though, I really do think all Phillies fans should be banned. Fucking monsters, the lot of them. Of course, yesterday, that would have meant that the stadium would have only been 1/4 full. But still. Harmony!)
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