Baseball in DC ......your reaction?

[Cascadian]

I would like to find out how you DC Duers feel about the former Montreal Expos coming to town? The reports I am getting is that the reaction in town is mixed. Your Mayor Anthony Williams seems all for it.

If you do like or care for the idea, what should the team's name be?

John

[SaveElmer]

1. Awesome news

Although a Twins fan I think it will be great for the city and the surrounding area. Opponents are getting more media coverage than their numbers warrant.

[many a good man]

2. Its great! As long as I don't have to pay for it

$400 million for a new ballpark? Make the friggin' lobbyists pay for it, since they'll be the only ones who can afford to attend the games. Nevertheless, the nation's capital should always have had its own team.

Did you catch the photos of city leaders celebrating and wearing the new baseball cap with a "curly W"? I will not be able to support the team its first four years if bush* is re-installed!!!




I'd be more excited if thery were in the AL.

[Cascadian]

3. What about the Orioles?

They are AL. I think the idea of franchises in sports sucks. I think American sports should follow the European model where every town has a soccer team for example and you have plenty of cross-town and cross-region rivalries. You also have a pyramid system to accomodate all of the clubs where you have a top league and several lower leagues at the bottom and the worst teams in the top league go down to the next lower league and the top teams go the top league. And getting back to rivalries. If you had enough teams in sports, you could have major rivalries like Washington vs. Baltimore, Tacoma vs. Seattle, Richmond vs. Norfolk and so on.... Franchises belong in the fast food industry not sports!


John

[Southpaw Bookworm]

4. Half past give a crap

Not a baseball fan, am concerned about how much $$ DC is going to use on this venture (both directly and through tax breaks) while people are being priced out of the neighborhoods they've lived all their lives.

[northzax]

5. it's fabulous! and about time

after all, you can't be a gib league city without baseball. I mean, when you think of large, powerful cities in this country, what comes to mind, Tampa? Phoenix? Kansas City? Milwaukee? not Washington. Who cares that we have the lowest unemployment in the country and the fastest economic growth? who care that we are the (with apologies to New York) center of the Free World? Who cares that we have every other professional sport (hell, we have semi pro women's rugby) but without baseball, we are peoria. It is vitally important that our mayor spent monthso f time and hundreds of millions of dollars to get a monopolist employer to move to town and employ literally dozens of people at minimum wage! Who cares that ourschool system is among the worst in the country, that our city buildings, including the schools, are collapsing from age and lack of maintenance? who cares that we have lead in our water, a sewer system that dumps sewage right into the river (which, by the way runs right next to the new stadium...mmm, ever smelled he Anacostia in summer? hope it'sa domed stadium)

who cares about all that? we've finally, after 30 years of groveling, been patted on the head by an industry with a 100 year track record of failing in this town, and have been given the right to spend a half billion dollars on a playground for the wealthy. who cares that weget no ownership stake in the team? who cares that we get no revenue from the stadium? who cares that we're biulding a parking lot that a private company gets the revnue from? who cares that we're displacing 500 good paying jobs for 500 minimum wage ones? we've got baseball, baby! we're major league!

all silliness aside: two predictions:

1: this won't happen. something will go awry.

2: if it does happen, the team will not make the playoffs for 15 years, by which time, they will have wrung concessions from the city to pay them more moeny.

3: the team will sell out at RFK next year, but will never sell out the new stadium.

4: in a decade, the area around the stadium will still remain undeveloped.

5: the smell of the Anacostia will make this the worst stadium to see a game in in the nation.

6: the team will move the instant the lease ezpires.

deal with it, DC, we're spending a half billion dollars we don't have to get raped.

[WoodrowFan]

6. YAY!

I can go see my Cincy Reds now!

[DaveinMD]

7. its great

even if tax dollars are used. Maryland invested in Camden Yards as part of a larger development plan and it worked wonders. The same thing is planned for the location of the new stadium.

[chimpymustgo]

8. It is a freaking shame and rip-off of taxpayers to benefit the fat cats.

Can you just imagine if the amount of time, energy, planning, dreaming and scheming - not to mention MONEY - had gone into investing in the city's SCHOOLS???

Baseball will bring NOTHING to help the people in this city who need it the most. Just skyboxes for Rethugs and corporates.