What's Your Feeling Towards the Nationals?

[Spy Fox]

I know this question gets asked relatively often around here but I thought it might be an interesting one to pose given that the Nats look to be bigger news than the O's for the next several years.

Naturally there are many more feelings possible than listed in the poll so if your opinion doesn't match any of the options above please explain below!

[bobmc]

I used to live in Arlington, VA so I was closer to the Nats than the O's when they relocated a few years ago. I went to a bunch of games during the inaugural year and have been to the new park. I look at them with interest. I believe an improved National team will make the O's try to compete and improve their own fortunes. I like what the Nats are doing - love Strasburg and Harper, the Zimmermans, the guy selected after Hobgood (Espinosa) and Davey Johnson. The next few years should be fun!

[OrangeJerseys]

I kinda have a team in each division throughout MLB so the Nats are a good option to root for in the NL East, although now that the Marlins changed their name to Miami, It's tempting to pull for them as a nod to our long time AAA team.

AL East: Birds of course!!!

AL Central: White Sox or Twinkies. This is the one division where I have no dislike for any team.

AL West: A's. I'm just young enough to not remember those ALCS battles from the early 1970's.

NL East: Nats or Marlins.

NL Central: Brew Crew. Former AL East team.

NL West: Giants. Jon Miller. Enough said.

:vader:

[MikeAD]

I don't know which pick to choose. I like the Nats. I follow their MLB team and many of their minor league affiliates. Orioles are always number 1, but they are right there. When I lived in Pittsburgh I was a Pirates "fan." I am about to re-locate to Florida, although Tampa doesn't have a team.

I wish the Nats well, they have some great fans and they have done a lot of things right. They will be contenders soon, even in that tough division.

[sangar]

Mmmmmm, cheese toast. :hearts:

[Don Quixote]

I'm fairly ambivalent. I do find it pretty annoying that the Nationals have usurped a lot of the Orioles coverage from the D.C. area (I know, duh), and that if they continue to improve, potential and some current Oriole fans will be siphoned off, barring some real and sustained improvement in the Orioles organization. So, good for them, I guess, but it isn't really doing anything for me. So, I don't know...maybe the cheese toast?

[Enjoy Terror]

I used to have no opinion of the Nats, but I watched Strasburg's debut and that was the best baseball game I've ever seen. No question. I bought a Zimmerman t-shirt last time I was at the park.

I still don't follow them closely, but I view them positively.

[SammyBirdland]

The Nats are the most boring team in baseball to me.

[MikeAD]

The Nats are the most boring team in baseball to me.

Eh, its not their fault they are in the lesser league .

Almost every NL game is boring to me. I hate watching the pitcher swat at a ball every 2-3 innings and I hate having to watch SS and 3B who should have retired a half decade ago being viewed as contributors. The NL gives me hope that no matter how fat or old i get, or how void of talent I may be, I might get a spring training invite to play SS in the NL .

[SteveA]

I have a friend who lives in Arlington and he buys a Nats' miniplan every year. I wind up going to about 5 or 6 games a year with him, mainly because it's the only chance we really get to see each other outside of football season when we go to Tech games.

Meanwhile, my attendance at O's games ahs dwindled, down to a handful of Hangout Nights and maybe 3 or 4 other games when I can find someone to go with.

So in terms of actually GOING to games, the Nats may soon catch the Orioles. But in terms of what team I really root for, and which MASN channel I turn on EVERY night during the season and watch or listen to nearly every game, it isn't even close. If I'm not actually at a Nats game, they are just one of the 14 other major league games going on besides the Orioles.

[Spy Fox]

I've grown up and still live in Silver Spring, so the Nats are technically closer to a "hometown" team to me than the O's are. I think if I was a few years younger I might have become primarily a Nats fan, but the O's were so thoroughly ingrained in my mind by the time the Nats arrived that is has never really been close.

I'm very excited about the Nats' potential the next few years. It's always a thrill for me to see a contending team that can create a buzz in DC. Washington sports fans have a reputation for being halfhearted or fairweather fans, but I have a lot of empathy for the locals who have been loyal despite 15-20 years without any consistent excitement in their sports teams.

But as much as I love DC the city, the Nationals will never come close to the Orioles in capturing my interest. I've watched a lot of Nats games over the last few years and I enjoy them, but the team just doesn't stir the same emotions. I don't feel the nervous excitement of a rally or the lingering disappointment of a late loss like I do for the Orioles, even when the Orioles are 20 games out of 1st place. I won't be shy in my hopes for the Nationals but the Orioles will be #1 forever for me.

[twoBshorty]

I don't care about the Nats. I've lived my whole life in Montgomery County but the Nats didn't come to town until I was 18 and I'll probably never stop thinking about them as "that new poser expansion team," even though they're not. I do go to games occasionally because Nationals Stadium just requires hopping on the Metro for a bit while OPACY is an hour drive, but I pick the games based on what opposing team I want to see, not the Nats themselves.

[Moose Milligan]

I really find it hard to care about them, even though they're in my back yard. I like their stadium, though. They're interesting due to Strasburg and Harper, but that's about it.

I think mostly it boils down to hating NL baseball.

[Austin]

I don't mind them, and honestly I'd root for them if they were to make a run. I certainly don't see them as the "enemy" and I think they'll be interesting to watch over the next few years. I could never emotionally invest in another team the way I have with the Orioles, though.

[Scrat1]

The Nats are the most boring team in baseball to me.

I voted for the third option, but I feel this way as well. It's a team I could see myself becoming somewhat more interested in, and I'm more interested in the Nats than, say, the Padres, but I've probably only watched 2-3 of their games all the way through. Pretty mind-numbing stuff and their terrible announcers do nothing to alleviate that. I imagine, however, a lot of this will change as Harper, Rendon and Co. arrive.

If I'm ranking my Nats fandom on a scale of -10 through 10, with -10 being utter hatred (Yankees), 0 being total apathy (Astros), and 10 being maniacal loyalty (Orioles), my Nats fandom would be around a 2, maybe a 3.