The Baltimore-Washington region has the rare treat of seeing
its two major league baseball teams in
postseason play. Both the
Washington Nationals, National League East champions, and the Baltimore
Orioles, who won the American League East title, will be battling to get to the
World Series and then win it.
Most of us are thrilled at the possibility of a “Beltway World
Series” between the two teams or, short of that, seeing one of them win it all, but the postseason has raised some conflicting loyalties.
Two years ago, I anticipated a Beltway series when both
teams made it to the postseason, but they both fell in the playoffs. At the time, I said I’d be glad if either
team made it through, but I was then called out on my loyalties and accused of a bit
of fair-weather-fandom, too willing to fall behind which ever team proved a
winner. It made me realize that I am and
always will be an Orioles fan. Had the
Nats prevailed after the Os were eliminated, it would have made for a nice
consolation prize, but they just aren’t my team. Although I actually live closer to D.C. than
Baltimore, the difference in distance is insignificant and not really the point.
I moved to Washington in 1973, when it no longer had a big
league team. I had to turn northward to
Charm City for baseball action and I was soon enjoying games in old Memorial
Stadium and following Orioles games on television and radio. I was impressed with Chuck Thompson’s
knowledgeable play-by-play broadcasts and his ability to actually teach
listeners about baseball while describing the action on the field. Memorial Stadium was a friendly sort of
retreat, where both players and vendors would talk to anyone and the whole place
functioned as a kind of community. Nothing
could match the Earl Weaver years or his charismatic antics and over-the-top
tantrums and face-offs with umpires.
He’s the only manager I’ve seen who got louder applause from the
hometown fans than any of his players when the Orioles were introduced prior to
World Series games. We all enjoyed Wild
Bill Hagy’s antics in Section 34 and he became our cheerleader during the high
times of 1979, 1982, and 1983. Like him,
we also stuck around during the lean years, when there wasn’t much to cheer
about. And, when the Os went to the
postseason, we had no trouble getting tickets to those games too, even if we
did end up in the nosebleed seats. At every game I attended, I invariably sat next to a total stranger with whom I would end up talking baseball throughout the game. Coming from New York, I was impressed with the way Orioles fans applauded opposing players when they made an outstanding play, although their derision of those who erred was merciless. How would you like to drop a fly ball and have 30,000 people point at you while chanting "You! You! You!"? Baseball’s changed a lot since then. But, even though Camden Yards is a different
sort of place with a different vibe, it’s still home to the Orioles and is
about to host another postseason campaign.
Weaver, Hagy, the Orioles of the 80s and many of their fans may be gone,
but the team is still there – and so am I.
Oh, I wish the Nats well and I would be happy to see them
advance, too, but I spent too many years in a baseball-less D.C. to shift to
their side now, especially after the decades of joy and aggravation I’ve shared
with the Orioles. The nation’s capital
has never struck me as a baseball town, despite the enthusiasm it has shown
toward the Nats, which I applaud. Many
area fans never took to the Orioles and they have embraced the Nats, as they
should. But I still see Washington as a
town that is mainly obsessed with its NFL team and talk of it never
ceases. The local media has catered to
that and, for those who aren’t really football fans or who may not care for the
local franchise (particularly its name, which many regard as offensive), it
leaves the impression that baseball will always be secondary. It’s tough for fans to remain enthusiastic or
patient during extended periods of team failure or rebuilding and only time
will tell how well Nats fans endure that.
But, I wish the Nats well – until they meet the Orioles in
the World Series and are totally thumped!
After all, you would not have expected Brooklyn Dodgers fans to root for
the Yankees when they went to the World Series and the Bums didn’t!
No comments:
Post a Comment