The whole Caps thing down here is pretty interesting. Hockey is a legitimately big deal. You can always tell when its Caps game day, because the Washington Metro will be decked out with people dressed in the team's signature red jerseys. In a sport that only recently got all of its playoff games televised again, competing in a major US market with three other professional sports franchises, including the unfortunate but dearly beloved Washington Redskins, this is no small feat.
In fact, as I was watching the game last night, and readying today's Morning Update in my mind, I was dreaming up a platitude-laden tribute to how great Capitals fans are, how great it is to see people crowding into bars to get excited about hockey, and how I hope this continues because the game's continued rejuvenation is great to see.
But then the clock struck 0.0 on double OT last night and I stepped outside for a moment, struggling to move amidst sidewalks packed full of fans leaving the Verizon Center in droves. What?!? Those same red-clad fans that I had seen all season on the Metro, and pouring into the arena before last night's game, now leaving before it had reached a settlement? Did I miss something? Had the game actually ended, and did I just hallucinate that there was still a tie score?
For any Conflict Revolution readers out there who are legitimately passionate about the Washington Capitals, I apologize for what I'm about to write, because it obviously doesn't apply to you. That being said, I've been forced to seriously reconsider whether or not this whole Caps thing is for real. Are the nightly sellout crowds dressed in all red at the Verizon Center a real, genuine sign of hometown support, or just a bunch of white collar professionals trying to score the hottest ticket in town? Do these DC fans really love their hockey, or do they just love hopping on the bandwagon? If it's the former, why are they leaving their own arena, in a playoff series that's tied, in a game that's about to go into triple overtime? I'm sorry, but that would never happen in New York.
I'll admit freely to not being a passionate Rangers fan. In fact, I didn't watch a single regular season hockey game this year. Not a single one. But the difference is that I admit it. I don't show up to Rangers games dressed in a jersey I paid too much for, to sit in seats I paid too much for, to root for a team that I'm going to bail on because the game isn't over and it's past my bedtime. In fact, if I did either of those first two things, you can bet your subprime mortgage that anyone that I attended that game with is dragging me out of the arena by my fingertips.
So if you were one of those Caps fans that left early last night, and still try to claim you care about hockey, shame on you. Because from my position as an outside observer and transplant to this city, all I see when I look at Caps fans now are a bunch of people who go just to go, and cheer just to cheer, but could really care less about what happens in the end. You'll celebrate if everyone else is celebrating, you'll put on a sad face if everyone else is putting on a sad face, but at the end of the day, all you really care about is going home and getting your 7 hours of sleep so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready and climb that bureaucratic ladder again tomorrow.
There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but if that's you, don't claim to be a sports fan, or act like you know heartbreak, or act like you really deserve to be happy when your team wins. While I might not particularly care about hockey, I've rooted for a second-rate baseball team for long enough to know the feeling that real Caps fans had last night when the game was over, and it's not a good one.
Don't get me wrong - it's still great to see so much interest in hockey here in the nation's capital, even if it is apparently superficial. But DC fans, just be honest with yourselves is all I'm asking. Because when it comes to your "favorite" hockey team, while you might have the jersey to show off, you're really no more of a fan than me. And if one of us is going to be happy at the end of this second round playoff series that the team for whom their allegiance reeks of bandwagon fanhood ended up winning, it might as well be this guy.
Disagree? Think I'm an idiot? Tell me all about it with a slickly worded - or hopelessly verbose - rebuttal in the comments section. I promise I'll love your comment no matter how ugly it gets.
The last trains for the metro ran at 12:30 or 1. They made the announcement inside Verizon Center and if you've ever been on the metro immediately following a game you'd understand why no one would want to risk missing the last train. it was game 3, not game 7.
ReplyDeleteOne place where NYC wins is absolutely in late night transit, we'll grant you that. But you can't attack Caps fans for not wanting to pay upwards of 50 bucks for a cab back to the VA metro stop where they left their cars.
ReplyDeleteIf it was game one of the regular season and the nhl had implemented a new rule making regular season games end by continuing in OT until a goal is scored, I would sit at a sharks game and then pay the 150 dollar cab ride home after missing the train. I have no money but I would do it because some people care about their hockey teams. It's the playoffs and your still in the hunt, there is no excuse for leaving early unless you are bandwagoning around.
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