You'll notice that most of this crowd leaving Nationals Park roots for the Phillies.
Even if the Orioles maintain their 0.259 win percentage for the year and manage to lose over 110 games, they will have something that the Nationals cannot have this year: passionate, devoted fans.
It’s not their fault, they’ve only been a team for five years, after all, but I notice this distinct lack of energy when I go to the games. Sure, the crowds have been relatively thin thanks to the weather, but last night was beautiful weather combined with a home win and the crowds didn’t seem to know what to do yet.
We’re talking about the intangibles here, but these are the things that show that you have a fanbase that cares about what the team is doing on the field.
- When the opposing pitcher makes two or more pick-off attempts, fans are supposed to boo him. It’s just what is expected. Crickets at Nats park. It’s like they don’t even notice what’s going on.
- Why am I the loudest person in a section rooting for the team? There may have been a glut of Braves fans around me, but the Nats fans should be making themselves heard.
- Nats fans tend to be relatively unresponsive to chants and tunes coming from the organ (like “CHARGE!”)
- When the closer is down to his last out, the stadium should be on its feet.
It’s not that they’re not trying. The Nats Pack is super enthusiastic, the Presidents Race is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the team just needs to give its fans time to get used to watching them win. Two straight seasons of losing > 100 games (I think I’m right there) will jade a fanbase. So long as the Nats keep on doing what they’re doing, they’ll actually have people in the stands being passionate about the team. Hopefully the trend continues because it’s sad when a division rival comes into town and the 7-20 team has rowdier, more excitable fans than the Nats.
