Send Them All To Their Rooms Without Supper!

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and the DC City Council are in a pissing match over the disposition of the city's allotment of Nationals baseball tickets. I won't bother going into the details, because it will only appear to give credence to this childish little argument. To make a long story short, Mayor Fenty has the tickets, and he won't share them. You can read the Post's account of the squabble here.

Now, in response, the city council is trying to drum up support for a vote to auction off the tickets, and use the proceeds to pay for city services. I suppose it's a noble cause, but what does it say about the Washington Nationals that the city, which spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bring the team to town, is willing to get rid of ALL of its tickets to go to the games? Given the amount of political capital that has been expended to bring the team to DC, you'd think the city's lawmakers would find some value in being able to show off the new ballpark and to provide tickets for charities and whatnot.

A similar story has developed in New York, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also selling off his city's tickets to see the Mets and the Yankkees in their new stadiums. However, THOSE tickets will fetch much more money, and the Mets and Yankees are both well-established brands. They don't need the city's support - the Nationals CLEARLY do.

Attendance is going to to be way down this year as the recession tightens its grip and the first-year newness of the stadium starts to wear off. Plus, the team clearly stinks again. If the city's own leaders aren't going to the games - or at least sending their constituents - isn't that sending a signal that no one else should feel the need to take in a game?

Councilmember Kwame Brown, who is pushing for the auction, believes the sale can generate a half-million dollars, but he wants to make sure the city does not violate its own scalping law, which prohibits tickets from being sold for MORE than face value.

The Nats lost 102 games last season, and are headed in the same direction this year. Does Brown really think that will be an issue?

Happy New Year!

Much to the chagrin of my friends who root for the Washington Nationals, I am here to wish everyone a happy start to Washington's sports year! The Redskins played the Colts last night in the Hall of Fame game, kicking off the NFL pre-season, and coincidentally, the first universally important sports event of 2008. (OK - technically, the Skins did play a playoff game back in January, but the American sports calendar - at least in DC - begins in July and ends after the Super Bowl, so the Skins/Seahawks game was, for the purposes of this blog played in SY2007)

I am happy to report the Skins gave Jim Zorn a nice gift - a 30 - 16 win for his first game as a head coach, even though the game itself was pretty meaningless. In fact, I did not watch even a second of it, as I am in the midst of 1:30am wake-up hell while working at WBAL. Besides, for pre-season games, the highlights on line always suffice:




For me, football IS the start of a new year. It is a joy to start reading ESPN.com again... and looking at the Redskins insider blog on the Washington Post website... and ordering the Redskins special at Papa John's (a free topping for every touchdown the Skins score, plus double toppings if they win... so that's EIGHT toppings for last night's game... )... and setting the TiVo for every game so I can watch the whole thing in 45 minutes and still not miss a play!

There is an enthusiasm for the Skins this season that is exciting to follow... Of course, in all fairness, the Redskins could be the worst team in football, and there would still be a certain enthusiasm for the team... that's what makes a fan a fan! I have no idea how well they'll do this season, but I do know I'll watch every game - at least once they start counting!

For me, the start of football means the end of summer is near, which is just fine by me. By the time the season starts after Labor Day, I'll be able to open the windows and enjoy the fall weather... before long, I'll be able to cook up a pot of chili to ward off the crisp cool evenings... and if the Skins are any good, I'll even be able to talk the missus into watching with me. I might even crack open a beer, which is something I pretty much only do when I'm watching football.

Are you ready for some football? Hell, yes I am!