[tws]

I went to my first Wizards game this weekend, and I have to admit, I had a lot more fun than I was anticipating. I was expecting to enjoy myself, but as someone who’s never really loved the NBA, my classic prejudices were still in place. After all, aren’t all NBA players spoiled brats who care more about their rims and (even more unnecessary) record deals than playing the game?

It turns out I’m the asshole. The Washington Wizards are a great team. I’m not saying they’re the greatest basketball team in the NBA now, but they got excellent contributions from a number of players in the 100-97 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers- DeShawn Anderson, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, even the surreally slumping hobbling star Gilbert Arenas. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, are LeBron James. No one could convince me that the team has anything else going for it, despite a few other fairly talented guys who’d keep the team watchable, if not competitive sans James. It wasn’t anything having to do with the actual game 4 that got me into the right mindset for this match, though. It was a story some of my coworkers told me before the game even started.

So, in a statement to the press a few days ago, the Wizard’s fro-hawked guard DeShawn Anderson claimed that the superstar James is overrated. Obviously miffed at the nerve of this ‘nobody,’ James retaliated saying that Anderson calling him overrated is like Soulja Boy calling Jay-Z overrated. The great music analogy was James’ first mistake. Anderson, never one to back down, went and contacted Soulja Boy’s camp, and the rapper and a bunch of his crew sat courtside for Game 3, and the music people at the Verizon Center cranked Soulja Boy’s self-titled anthem throughout the game. I don’t remember the exact score, but the Wizards beat the living piss out of the Cavaliers.

And THAT is exactly what’s electrified DC in the past couple of months, between the Caps and the Wizards, both playoff teams and, on halfway decent days, solid contenders. The amount of sheer enthusiasm for the Caps that the city displayed throughout their series against the Flyers was insurmountable. Even the announcers on Comcast Sportsnet, who were there in ’98 when the Caps went to the Stanley Cup finals, said that the noise the fans made in ’08 dwarfed anything the fans could conjure up a decade ago. That really means something, considering how these teams have both gone through enough crap to kill a weaker franchise. I think that the Capitals’ greatest victory this year was not simply living up to the rough two rebuilding years since the NHL lockout. It was flipping a giant collective middle finger to all of the sports writers between AP, Sports Illustrated, and even occasionally ESPN who wrote them off as a lost cause. Watching them force the Philly Flyers, this big, bad franchise into the corner, making them practically shit their pants before Joffrey Lupol saved the jobs of their GM and their coach by winning game 7 in overtime against the Caps was pretty rewarding, despite the outcome. I don’t hate this Flyers team as much as I did during the Eric Lindros (something of Lebron James for the 90’s NHL) era, but I still hope the Canadiens beat them down in round 2. Or the Penguins in round 3. You get the idea.
 

While sports aren’t my top area of interest, I love having the Caps as “my team.” Many Wizards fans clearly feel the same way. That’s the thing about DC teams, they may not always be the most dominant in their sport, but if you mess with them (like the James-Anderson war of words) they will drill their way into your head, and always bring their fans along for the fun. The Nationals are nowhere near this now, and I’m honestly not at all impressed with the team or the organization, and the Redskins are another entity entirely, which I won’t even start on here. And I’d be lying if I said that I could name even one player on the DC United. Even though I do like them in spirit.

Now, how cool would it be if they started cranking Jawbox, Fugazi, Dismemberment Plan, and other DC bands at Caps games? Such a synthesis of the city’s dominant music scene fostering further local pride. It’s just a crackpot idea from the top of my brain, but I like it. It’s been great how many hipster-types (to judge, and generalize) seemed to get into the Caps run to the playoffs this year. I believe that a guy who owns 41 books about Joe Namath is nerdier than a guy who owns 40 dungeons and dragons books. Society just isn’t as quick to apply the label of nerd to the Joe Namath guy, just because his obsession’s with the New York Jets legend, and not orcs. But, when we look at the big picture, it’s all the same.

I think that DC’s got a good chemistry with some of its sports teams. In a lot of cities (such as, I have to admit, my beloved Boston), the team is just there and cheered for accordingly, no matter how much tradition and world series victories come with the package. In our case, it’s like this: a few years ago, DC and the Caps (or the Wiz, take your pick) met on Match.com and decided to take their chance, go on a date, and hit it off immediately. DC is a little commitment-phobic, but the Caps and Wizards will be there for a long time, so we may as well enjoy the ride. And this town does.