Baseball in DC
So I went to the National's home opener last night. Which was awesome. It was realely good to see the stadium packed. Except for the fact that the stadium did not seem prepared to handle a packed crowd. Especially since President Bush was there, so security was a little bit tight. Getting into the stadium, everyone had to go through metal detectors. Which is understandable. Especially with Bush throwing out the first pitch, making him clear in the middle of the field with no secret service around. Secret Service's solution appeared to be keep all of the fans on the outside of the stadium and in line while the first pitch was being thrown out. Lucky us. They essentially tried to funnel 40,000 people through 8 lines.
About 45 minutes after I arrived at the stadium, I got into the stadium (only missing the first inning, and the top of the 2nd). Not too bad. It's still better than most dodger fans. The game was great. Livan Hernandez pitched a great game, there were some solid defensive plays, Vinny Castilla had a big day with the bat, and the fans were very into it. Then the game ended. They were giving away these cool souvenier coins after the game, although they didn't do a very good job of explaining that. So I grabbed one without knowing what it was. Iin retrospect, I should have grabbed about 10 (as the guy did who's selling about 10 of them on ebay right now).
After the game, getting into the metro was even worse than getting into the stadium. They were trying to get the same amount of people through in fewer lines. (Although they had the stairway blocked off, which made no sense). Looking back, it would have made much more sense to walk around to the other entrance to the metro. Since no one thought of that. It took an hour to get from the stadium into the metro.
Aside from that, I really do think that a) despite the protests outside the stadium, baseball in DC will be good for DC, and b) DC will be good for baseball in DC.
Baseball will be good for DC because, presumably, the new stadium in the city will help to raise property values in the city, which will help the tax base. Plus, (ignoring the arument of gentrification issues), it will improve the anacostia area. This is also ignoring the argument of whether or not the amount of money DC is putting up for the stadium is apropriate.
DC will be good for baseball because they can get a solid fan base, and people are excited about having the team.
Finally, Peter Angelos is an idiot for thinking a team in DC will hurt the Orioles.
About 45 minutes after I arrived at the stadium, I got into the stadium (only missing the first inning, and the top of the 2nd). Not too bad. It's still better than most dodger fans. The game was great. Livan Hernandez pitched a great game, there were some solid defensive plays, Vinny Castilla had a big day with the bat, and the fans were very into it. Then the game ended. They were giving away these cool souvenier coins after the game, although they didn't do a very good job of explaining that. So I grabbed one without knowing what it was. Iin retrospect, I should have grabbed about 10 (as the guy did who's selling about 10 of them on ebay right now).
After the game, getting into the metro was even worse than getting into the stadium. They were trying to get the same amount of people through in fewer lines. (Although they had the stairway blocked off, which made no sense). Looking back, it would have made much more sense to walk around to the other entrance to the metro. Since no one thought of that. It took an hour to get from the stadium into the metro.
Aside from that, I really do think that a) despite the protests outside the stadium, baseball in DC will be good for DC, and b) DC will be good for baseball in DC.
Baseball will be good for DC because, presumably, the new stadium in the city will help to raise property values in the city, which will help the tax base. Plus, (ignoring the arument of gentrification issues), it will improve the anacostia area. This is also ignoring the argument of whether or not the amount of money DC is putting up for the stadium is apropriate.
DC will be good for baseball because they can get a solid fan base, and people are excited about having the team.
Finally, Peter Angelos is an idiot for thinking a team in DC will hurt the Orioles.