What's Your Feeling Towards the Nationals?

[Austin]

Right or wrong, whenever someone tells me they are a Nationals fan (I've met one so far), I think to myself "so you don't like baseball, eh?". To me it's the equivalent of offering someone a beer and being told they only like wine coolers.

I know that sounds strange coming from an Orioles fan, seeing as the Orioles barely qualify as a professional baseball team, but that's what my brain thinks.

Well if the Nationals are equivalent to wine coolers then the Orioles must be dirty dishwater or something. We are the lowest rung on the ladder, that's for sure.

[NewMarketSean]

Right or wrong, whenever someone tells me they are a Nationals fan (I've met one so far), I think to myself "so you don't like baseball, eh?". To me it's the equivalent of offering someone a beer and being told they only like wine coolers.

I know that sounds strange coming from an Orioles fan, seeing as the Orioles barely qualify as a professional baseball team, but that's what my brain thinks.

They're still a new team in many ways. A playoff run will do wonders for a new team. See: 2000 in Baltimore with the Ravens.

[glenn__davis]

They're still a new team in many ways. A playoff run will do wonders for a new team. See: 2000 in Baltimore with the Ravens.

I'm not as convinced as others are that the Nats are due for a playoff berth soon, especially with the way that division is shaping up, but...

It definitely will be interesting to see how that city reacts if the Nats have a successful stretch of seasons. They're so far on the backburner there. Baltimore football at least had a history of a passionate fanbase before the Browns came. DC baseball doesn't really have that.

[Bibliomaniac]

I voted for the third choice down. I don't really follow the Nats all that closely, but I'd say they're my third favorite MLB team, behind the O's and the Pirates. (No, I don't automatically root for the underdog, it's just that all my teams are underdogs, for some reason! Well, different reasons for each, really, but you get my point.)

By the way, cheese toast is a poor cousin to grilled cheese!

[weams]

Mmmmmm, cheese toast. :hearts:

I walk to their double A park.

[PeteCanes]

What's cheese toast? Is it simply cheese on toast, or is it some actual thing?

[SpringBarb]

I live in Montgomery County and was pretty excited when the Nats came to DC, but my enthusiasm has waned greatly. I didn't like their tv crew, their play wasn't particularly exciting, and I very, very quickly got tired of hearing about Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg. Oh, Stephen Strasburg. If there's anything that's turned me off the Nats, it was the nonstop talk about Strasburg.

[SammyBirdland]

I live in Montgomery County and was pretty excited when the Nats came to DC, but my enthusiasm has waned greatly. I didn't like their tv crew, their play wasn't particularly exciting, and I very, very quickly got tired of hearing about Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg. Oh, Stephen Strasburg. If there's anything that's turned me off the Nats, it was the nonstop talk about Strasburg.

Ryan Zimmerman certainly is Mr. Excitement though. It's like not all of his facial muscles work or something.

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[CalvertCo.OsFan]

I voted for option 4.

I cant believe how many people seem like if the Nats were to be good they would get on board/celebrate their achievements? What happened to the diehard Os fans? Are there any besides me? I thought (and was raised) that you root for ONE team and thats it. None of this "hey they are my AL, NL team bs". What a joke. So you have 5 favorite teams? Does it just make people feel better to root (or claim) to be a fan of some team just because they are doing good and may be the flavor of the month? I know the orioles suck right now but it will only make the good times down the road all that much better. When the ravens hit rock bottom and suck and the skins get good will people "root" for them as well?

Maybe all the losing has taken its toll but for me the Orioles represent BALTIMORE which is what i take pride in rooting for. I would NEVER root for a team with WASHINGTON, NEWYORK, PHILADELPHIA or BOSTON on their chests. They dont represent me or my city!

If you are flipflopping and rooting/investing interest in the orioles and another team (in this case the nats) then you probably arent that much of a fan to begin with and are just CASUAL in my book. I will admit, the Nats are way ahead of us probably in having young talent, a better front office/organization and have a good thing going but in no way would i want them to do good. I would never root for the team that is our closest/proximity rival to do well. The Nats doing well would just make us look WORSE btw. For example.....in my softball league my neighbors team is in my same league. If my squad doesnt finish first i just want to make sure my neighbors doesnt finish ahead of me so i dont have to deal with it/feel like a second fiddle to him.

I just thought people had it ingrained in them to root for one team their whole life and not develop feelings for some other team.

I guess our losing ways have changed peoples feelings...because if we were perennial contenders and the nats were a 100 loss team for the forseeable future I dont think there would be a whisper of interest in them.

[CharmCityLights]

I voted for option 4.

I cant believe how many people seem like if the Nats were to be good they would get on board/celebrate their achievements? What happened to the diehard Os fans? Are there any besides me? I thought (and was raised) that you root for ONE team and thats it. None of this "hey they are my AL, NL team bs". What a joke. So you have 5 favorite teams? Does it just make people feel better to root (or claim) to be a fan of some team just because they are doing good and may be the flavor of the month? I know the orioles suck right now but it will only make the good times down the road all that much better. When the ravens hit rock bottom and suck and the skins get good will people "root" for them as well?

Maybe all the losing has taken its toll but for me the Orioles represent BALTIMORE which is what i take pride in rooting for. I would NEVER root for a team with WASHINGTON, NEWYORK, PHILADELPHIA or BOSTON on their chests. They dont represent me or my city!

If you are flipflopping and rooting/investing interest in the orioles and another team (in this case the nats) then you probably arent that much of a fan to begin with and are just CASUAL in my book. I will admit, the Nats are way ahead of us probably in having young talent, a better front office/organization and have a good thing going but in no way would i want them to do good. I would never root for the team that is our closest/proximity rival to do well. The Nats doing well would just make us look WORSE btw. For example.....in my softball league my neighbors team is in my same league. If my squad doesnt finish first i just want to make sure my neighbors doesnt finish ahead of me so i dont have to deal with it/feel like a second fiddle to him.

I just thought people had it ingrained in them to root for one team their whole life and not develop feelings for some other team.

I guess our losing ways have changed peoples feelings...because if we were perennial contenders and the nats were a 100 loss team for the forseeable future I dont think there would be a whisper of interest in them.

The bold portion above about sums it up.

[Austin]

I voted for option 4.

I cant believe how many people seem like if the Nats were to be good they would get on board/celebrate their achievements? What happened to the diehard Os fans? Are there any besides me? I thought (and was raised) that you root for ONE team and thats it. None of this "hey they are my AL, NL team bs". What a joke. So you have 5 favorite teams? Does it just make people feel better to root (or claim) to be a fan of some team just because they are doing good and may be the flavor of the month? I know the orioles suck right now but it will only make the good times down the road all that much better. When the ravens hit rock bottom and suck and the skins get good will people "root" for them as well?

Maybe all the losing has taken its toll but for me the Orioles represent BALTIMORE which is what i take pride in rooting for. I would NEVER root for a team with WASHINGTON, NEWYORK, PHILADELPHIA or BOSTON on their chests. They dont represent me or my city!

If you are flipflopping and rooting/investing interest in the orioles and another team (in this case the nats) then you probably arent that much of a fan to begin with and are just CASUAL in my book. I will admit, the Nats are way ahead of us probably in having young talent, a better front office/organization and have a good thing going but in no way would i want them to do good. I would never root for the team that is our closest/proximity rival to do well. The Nats doing well would just make us look WORSE btw. For example.....in my softball league my neighbors team is in my same league. If my squad doesnt finish first i just want to make sure my neighbors doesnt finish ahead of me so i dont have to deal with it/feel like a second fiddle to him.

I just thought people had it ingrained in them to root for one team their whole life and not develop feelings for some other team.

I guess our losing ways have changed peoples feelings...because if we were perennial contenders and the nats were a 100 loss team for the forseeable future I dont think there would be a whisper of interest in them.

There was literally only one person who voted that they would root for the Nats as much as the O's, so I don't know what inspired you to post this rant. No one on this board fits what you posted and it's kind of insulting that you'd insinuate that you're somehow more "diehard" because you have an irrational hatred of another franchise. I'm not a Nationals fan but I wouldn't mind it if they won and I'd probably root for them the same way I rooted for the Red Sox in the 2004 playoffs - GASP! I also mildly root for the Reds, the Brewers, and the Dodgers but that doesn't mean I'm not a die-hard Orioles fan.

[NewMarketSean]

In the past couple of years, I have hung out in DC a lot more and really grown to appreciate the city, whereas, before I felt it was a cold, transient place with no soul. That, along with reading many Pelecanos novels has helped me see the city in a different light. I'll be down there this Saturday for a show and dinner. That said, I love Baltimore. It is my hometown and always will be. But they are two different cities with their own identities and people should allow themselves to see them for what they are instead of being so dismissive of them because of loyalty to a sports team. I hate the Steelers with a passion but Pittsburgh is a great American city.

DC, and therefore, the Nationals will probably never have the die-hard fanbase and traditions that the Orioles have because DC is a different city than Baltimore. But it doesn't mean they won't have a great fanbase of their own as the team plays meaningful games down the road. I, for one, am excited about the Nationals and the possibility of some real exciting baseball being played within an hour's drive of my house.