On the eve of the pending playoff implosion by the Washington Capitals, I got to thinking about DC and its own sports curse. When it comes to cities and bad championship karma, DC ranks right up there with Cleveland, Buffalo, and Philly (before 2008) in my book. Of course, as a DC native, I am somewhat bias. That said, I think many sports observers would agree this city is definitely without when it comes to a championship legacy. DC may not be cursed by a goat or a building, or a native burial ground or a fat guy who hit a lot home runs and ate too many hot dogs, but it is definitely suffering from a championship curse.
This city has not seen a professional sports championship since 1992. January 26, 1992 to be exact. It was three days before my tenth birthday and the Redskins were hoisting the Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl Champions. It was amazing. To this day, it still ranks as top 5 best days of my life. In total, DC has three Super Bowls, one NBA title, zero Stanley Cups, and is currently working on its 3rd baseball team. Yes that's right, the Nationals are now the third team to try to call DC home. Support in this city is so bad, owners can't even keep a baseball team here for more than a decade or two. Oh yeah, I don't really want to hear it from you soccer people. DC United winning several Major League Soccer Titles does not account. Soccer is barely a professional sport in this country. This isn't Europe.
While DC's championship tradition is less than impressive, the outlook doesn't look much better. The Nationals are butt-f*cking terrible. Despite their surprisingly better-than-expected start this season they are still probably headed for 90-plus loss season. The Wizards are a complete mess. It usually doesn't help when the best player and face of the franchise brings an assortment of guns into the locker room for some sort of shoot out like it's the O.K. Corral. Funny how that leads to suspensions, criminal charges, and a lost season resulting in a dismantling of the team via trade to begin the rebuilding process.
Then there's the Redskins. Oh the Redskins. I believe I have expressed my dissatisfaction with the Redskins before. Well not much has changed in the last six months, except ANOTHER new coach, ANOTHER new quarterback, and ANOTHER promise of championships. I really do hope the Mike Shanahan-Donovan McNabb experiment works. There is nothing I want more than another Super Bowl title, but I have heard this story before. The story of a high priced coach and an aging veteran gets a little repetitive after the fifth or sixth time around, so excuse me if I'm not completely sold on lucky number seven.
That brings us to the Washington Capitals. In many respects, the Capitals have become the stable franchise of this city. They have a good owner who cares about the fans and let's the hockey people run the team. As a result, he has seemingly built a championship caliber team with a rabid fan base. For the first time in team history, the Caps finished with the best record in the league and sold out every home game in the process.
Except here the Caps are, first round of the playoffs, and once again face another game 7. I may not be the biggest of Caps' fans, but I do route for the teams in this city. I don't think my DC pride would have it any other way. I mean I just bought a Caps tee- shirt the other day, so I could join the "Rock the Red" bandwagon. It would be unbelievable to watch this Caps team win the Stanley Cup. Right now though, they are a long way from that moment and just need a win to get through this first round series. I hate to admit it, but tomorrow's game is more than just an elimination game for the Caps. The Caps need it for their psyche and this city needs it for its psyche as well. A loss tomorrow would signal more than just the end of the Caps' title hopes, but would usher in questions about the teams ability to win in the playoffs. As for this city, a loss is just more evidence DC may in fact be cursed.
DC needs a title and let's just hope tomorrow's game is a step in the right direction for better things to come....
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