The Redskins were in quarterback purgatory. The Capitals were the bright spot, the best team in hockey. But their star player had recently lost to arch nemesis Sidney Crosby in the Olympics, and said arch nemesis scored the game-winning goal against the U.S. in the Gold Medal game. Times were tough all around.
The Wizards had one of the most miserable seasons in its history. Hopes were high before the season, but instead they lost many games coming out of the gate. They were sluggish, they were old and the fans knew that the nucleus of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler would never win a championship. Arenas was caught with guns, and ‘Tawn and Caron were shipped off to win championship rings. (‘Cept not.)
The Nationals, it goes without saying, have been the worst team in baseball the past few years. They have had consecutive first overall picks, and the attendance has been poor even with the brand-spankin’-new stadium they built.
In the past decade the Redskins haven’t won much of anything except for “Offseason Champions.” They brought in Fat Albert even though their defense was solid. They were a team controlled by Dan Snyder, a man who throws around money but has no idea how to properly spend it.
Now let me take you to present day. And man, are things looking up. The Redskins brought in a proven winner with Donovan McNabb. The Nationals are above .500. Barely, but still. And recently, the Wizards just won the draft rights to a Mr. John Wall of Kentucky.
The Washington sports scene was depressing beforehand. The teams were bad and there was not much to look forward to. Now, each team has a legitimate chance of being half-way decent, even, (gulp) playoff contenders.
McNabb is one of the most unappreciated quarterbacks of our time. He has been a proven winner and dealt with much adversity. When he was announced as the Eagles’ draft pick, they booed him so loudly it would make a Mexican soccer fan blush. He was constantly in trade talks, and in the same year he was benched in the middle of a game he led the Eagles to the Conference finals. I am excited as a Redskins fans to finally have a quarterback that has been a proven winner. I know that he may be on the wrong side of 30, but he at least gives the fans something to be excited about. And Chunky Campbell’s Soup is delicious.
Steven Strasburg. That’s all I got to say. He has thrown two no-hitters, albeit in five and six innings, in the minors already. He’s a double cheese burger with fries on the side. He’s the entire package. His nickname, invented by me right now, is “The Franchise.”
Curt Schilling said he may be the best pitcher alive today. The Nationals will sell out all his games, and he has already rejuvenated the Nationals that they have won the same amount of games that they lost for the first time in years. But here’s the thing: a year after getting one of the greatest pitching prospects of all time, they may get one of the best hitting products of all time too. Bryce Harper, 17-year old wunderkind catcher who hits 500-foot home runs, and has been compared to Mickey Mantle. Scouts have salivated over how good he can be; he is baseball’s LeBron James.
And now to the Wizards. With only a 10.3 percent chance of winning the first pick in the lottery, the Basketball Gods finally did some good for the Wizards, and they got the rights to pick Wall. The Great Wall of Chinatown. He already has his own dance. He’s graduated from John Calipari’s school of amazing young point guards. (Previous graduates: Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans.) He has passes that could make Steve Nash look like Amar’e Stodemaire. He can dunk ferociously, he’s a smart young man, and he has a lot of upside. I already have my ticket for the John Wall Bandwagon, and hopefully I’ll never get off.
In 2012, we the fans of the Washington, D.C. sports teams, could concievably have one of the best pitcher-catcher tandems in the bigs, the best young point guard in the NBA, a veteran playoff quarterback, and a Stanley Cup Champion. Maybe that might be a bit optimistic, but as a wise Tim Robbins once said, hope is a good thing.
