Nats Clinched!

Last night we went to our first Nationals' game since coming back from our road trip. What an awesome atmosphere at Nats Park! It’s such a switch to have an exciting, playoff-bound team in DC.

I like to think that I brought baseball to the area, since I moved here in 2004, when the bids were being put in and when DC won. (Clearly, I was bringing baseball from…Idaho?) Then in 2005 I was there at RFK Stadium to see half a dozen games or so. They actually did pretty well and had a chance there at the end of the season to catch the Phillies. That September was exciting, but nothing became of their run.

They’ve been my team ever since then though. For a few years I didn’t follow them closely, but I followed well enough to know that there were some rough days in the clubhouse and front office. This year they’ve been in first place for all but ten games of the season. The other night they clinched the playoffs—they will at least get a wildcard berth. Their magic number to winning the NL East is now down to six! Our baseball friends to the north are having an amazing year also—the Orioles are only a game back on the Yanks. Maybe there will be a Beltway Series!

We splurged and got cable for the first time mostly just to watch the Nats. We picked a good year to do it! The boys know most of the players’ names and Clark imitates their stances at the plate. He is obsessed with Bryce Harper. Probably even more than your average Washington DC-area teenage girl. Both boys are also in love with the Presidents from the Presidents’ race that happens every game in the middle of the 4^th inning. Ever since they were scared of them early on in the season, they’ve started loving them. In fact, word in the hallway is that they want to be George and Teddy for Halloween. We’ll see. That’s seems harder than ceiling fans.

So taking them to a game last night was super fun. They know so much about the game and the team that they understood how cool it was to be there. The only bad part came in the 9^th inning when the Nats lost the game. Other than that it was great. I can’t get over how awesome it is to just be able to go to a game whenever we want to—so different than the way I grew up.

If you’re in DC, get out and go to the park! It’s an electrifying crowd that comes out to the games now. Even if you don’t adore baseball like I do, it’s a fun night. Go Nats! Let Teddy Win.