First, let's go to the wayback machine for a minute...September 14, 2003:
I am not a big Baltimore fan...I would probably like the city well enough were it not for the people I know who live(d) there. Because I self-identify as a Washingtonian, the Baltimoreans (I'm trying to be nice) I know take every opportunity to tell me why they loooooove Baltimore and hate D.C.It usually has something to do with "Baltimore has character, Washington is dull." "Baltimore is friendly, Washington is snobby." "Baltimore is affordable, Washington is too expensive."
I must admit for the record: I live in Maryland, not D.C. I'm even outside the Beltway. I do, however, harbor a fantasy of buying my grandfather's boyhood home in Columbia Heights. And my sports allegiances are straight down the line Washington: Capitals, Redskins, Mystics, Freedom, United, Wizards. There's no baseball team on that list because we don't have a baseball team and haven't since 1972. I will not substitute the Orioles.
My blood pressure is rising, so I'll lay off that subject for now.
Even with the way they've been playing, my blood pressure has improved since the Nationals came to town. I love them. I love baseball. And I am looking forward to this weekend's series...
To fuel my enthusiasm further, I decided to see if the Bawlmer Sun had anything worth reading about this so-called rivalry in today's Sports section. I found New twist to old rivalry. And when I read it, I pretty much got my blood pressure back up to 2003 levels, because this little paragraph
Many Baltimoreans still resent the Redskins' organization for its perceived role in Baltimore's prolonged period without an NFL team after the Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984. Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke opposed expansion, then flirted with building a new stadium just 15 miles south of Baltimore before settling on Prince George's County.
...wasn't followed up with a discussion of how the Baltimore baseball franchise shut us out for all those year!
Not bitter, though.
A lot of people still don't get it, though a few do. From the Tom Boswell chat on washingtonpost.com today:
Washington, D.C.: Tom, I'm a little surprised at how little build-up there has been for Nats-O's this week. Yes, I saw that story in the Sports section today, but that's sort of the point -- everything is about how this ISN'T a rivalry. But, as a Nat's fan, tonight is the game I've looked forward to more than any other this year. I hate Angelos. I hate the fact that we went so long without a team here, because of the Orioles. Just because I don't hate the O's players (yet) doesn't mean I don't want the Nats to beat them up this weekend. It means more to me than them beating the Mets or the Braves right now. Isn't that a rivalry? Who knows, maybe I'm the only one.
Tom Boswell: One this subject I don't think there is any doubt that many __including all the players on both the teams__ have completely missed the point. The rivalry is not between the players on the two teams. It is not between the fans of the two teams. The rivalry is between the fans of the Nationals and the Orioles franchise which has 1) tried to keep a team out of Washington for decades, 2) succeeded in bullying Selig into an unfair percentage of the Nationals TV rights and 3) been a part of the MASN-Comcast battle which has kept millions of Washington fans from seeing the Nats games.
YOU understand the rivalry. I understand it. Frank Robinson doesn't have a clue. He's still an Oriole-for-life and a National-for-the-moment. Much of the media asks the managers and players, "What do you think?" And whatever they say, that's the story.
Well, this time the story isn't in the dugouts, it's in the stands. That's where the anger and rivalry is. And, by the way, plenty of Orioles fans who live in Baltimore have no love for Washington getting a team. They think its arrival significantly damaged the Orioles long-term position in the A.L. East. They conveniently minimize the reality that Washington is a wealthy market with 5.5 million fans and OBVIOUSLY should have a team.
I hope I'll be able to put this in perspective. The Nationals, in particular, should be aware that THEIR FANS __who pay their salaries__ consider these "rivalry games." So maybe they ought to play with that in mind and discount the kind words about All Things Baltimore from their former Oriole manager.
Heh, heh, why not stir things up.
Yeah, why not?
Posted by Nic at May 19, 2006 11:54 AM | TrackBack