Christening the new stadium Sunday night was one of those “be seen” events, so naturally they were going to show up, and naturally those same people were going to boo.

That could be – the seats behind the plate were likely taken up by high priced attorneys in the corporate boxes and we all know how much lawyers hate Republicans.

And a good many lawyers are complete jackasses, so maybe that explains it.

I wonder what they would do if they actually had a chance to meet the President one on one? It’s easy to boo someone in a crowd. I was at a DC fundraiser event at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, had a few cocktails and who should appear than my own appallingly worthless Congressman, Jim Moran?

I thought I could stand here and tell him exactly what I felt about him, but I was having a good time and didn’t want to spoil it by looking like an idiot in front of everyone, so I introduced myself and shook his hand just for the fun of it. I don’t regret being gracious, it’s not as if berating the guy publicly would have changed anything he does.

Yahoo has the report:
President Bush had enough to worry about — like not flubbing the first…
Popularity: unranked [?]……

Liberals would boo their mother if she was a conservative. These people have BDS and will never ever get over the fact that they lost the election to someone like President Bush.

I believe President Bush is a good man who will be remembered as a great president. I personally don’t agree with him on everything but I will never forget the way he responded in the days after 9/11.

As a ex-D.C.er, I can tell you the Washington area has some of the worst examples of “front-runneritis” in the world, probably stemming from the carryover idea in politics that if you’re not first, you’re nothing.

The regular, hard-core Nats fans aren’t bad — I was at RFK for a Pittsburgh game last year, and the fans there were there for the game, not to be seen. That wasn’t the case when I was there back in ’05, when the return of baseball to Washington was a hot, trendy ticket. Then you’d see lots of lawyer/accountant/staff aide/general federal employee or lobbyist types coming in suits right from work to see the game — or to be seen by others who they wanted to be seen by (the crowd was suburban, upper middle class and very white for a game being played at 22nd and East Capitol streets).

Washington stayed in the pennate race almost the entire season, but in 2006, when the Expos’ past fire sales of talent finally caught up with the team, those trendies vanished from RFK in a hurry.

Christening the new stadium Sunday night was one of those “be seen” events, so naturally they were going to show up, and naturally those same people were going to boo. And they’ll continue to hang out as long as Zimmerman keeps hitting walkoff homers in the bottom of the ninth. But if the Nats fall back again, they’ll dump baseball by June and opt for their beachfront rental cabins on the Maryland Eastern Shore.

So I understand that. But it’s hard to disregard the experience of bring given unfair guff at an opposing stadium/arena. RFK was the one place where that didn’t happen, so it upsets me that the season ticket holders at Nats Park (because that crowd was mostly season ticket holders), would boo the President.

That being said, I do like the DC area very much and am proud to live near our nation’s Capital (I live in Arlington, right next to the cemetery). But I always notice how much friendlier and more open people are when I go home to Pittsburgh, it’s unfortunate that this area can’t be that way but perhaps it goes with the territory of being a major metropolis. It’s a double-edged sword.

Well, I left my hometown to join the military and that took me all over the world. This is a thriving IT center which is the industry I work in, I’m not a GS. I have my own business. But it’s a thriving IT center because of the proximity to DC, from way back when AOL was huge.

All I can say about the sports scene here is that your fans started it. I have never acted inappropriately at a sporting event and every time I go to see the teams I’ve been rooting for since I was a kid, I get a bunch of unwarranted guff from DC fans.

Rooting for our teams is the way we maintain our links to where we grew up and the affinity we have for our hometowns and our family and friends who still live there.

If it wasn’t for transient workers and the federal government, DC would be trying to keep up with Richmond, VA.

I think in retrospect though, that this was appropriate. It was a blatantly political act and I wanted to send them a message the only way I know how. Since they really don’t read e-mails and take phone calls.

No, Pittsburgh.

I thought so.

People in other towns at sporting events are basically friendly and will talk to other fans. DC it happens rarely, unless they want to taunt you.

Yes, I remember once going to an Eagles game in Philly and not being able to cheer for the ‘Skins for fear of my life. Real friendly. I’ve also had Steelers fans (men)drunk and get in my face, (I’m a size 4 girl,) and scream that they’ve won more Superbowls than my team. I let it go and agreed as scenes from “The Accused” flashed through my head.

It has NOTHING to do with the people who were born and raised here, it has to do with a decision made practically two centuries ago.

And maybe that’s why people like me – who are actually from there – are a little more cautious about making freinds who aren’t from there. You all move to DC and put us down, put down our hometown, root loudly against our teams, because you have no interest in the people there, you’re just there for a job that got you out of your hometown where you might have to settle for something that doesn’t allow for retirement at 55 and 60% of your highest income for the rest of your life.
I agree that booing the president while he is there at the game is classless. I would never do that. Political views have no place at sporting events, and it is an honor that the leader of the free world would throw out a baseball at a home opener, (not to mention his connection to the sport) and that should be respected. There are a lot of classless people at any sporting event. But DC fans are the way they are because of the opinions about them expressed by you. We are a tight-knit and small group surrounded by transients who come there to hate and root against everything that we love and support. Your attitude typifies the people who come to live there, hence making us that much more enthusiastic about our teams and our town.

No, Pittsburgh.

I’ve been to Capitals game where some of the fans literally stood up and screamed “F-Pittsburgh” at the top of their lungs. Real classy stuff like that. With kids around.

And I know fans in the northeast corridor can be abusive. I’d go to a Steelers-Redskins game before I’d go to a Steelers-Eagles game.

But Redskin fans were being clowns during a meaningless exhibition game.

And the attitude that comes out is, “you left your dinky little town and came to work here, because it’s so great here and that’s because of us.”

No, I left my dinky little town and came to DC because DC has the federal government and the huge number of jobs that go along with it. It has NOTHING to do with the people who were born and raised here, it has to do with a decision made practically two centuries ago.

People in other towns at sporting events are basically friendly and will talk to other fans. DC it happens rarely, unless they want to taunt you.

I admit that even though I’ve lived here 10 years I made up my mind to never cheer for these teams, but now I’ve made the choice to go the other way and actively root against them. It does make things more interesting.

If you don’t respect the man, respect the office, for goodness sake. Americans take too many things for granted…most people really have no idea how great this country and how unusual it is in all of history.

Capital fans are very rude. Went to a lot of playoff games. Always good to see the Penguins whip them.

So…you attend playoff games in DC, root for the other team, and the DC fans are the bad ones? Sounds to me like you are trying to start something. You know, just because Caps fans will not root for your team (or believe that Sidney Crosby is “The Next One” when they have the best player in the league right now,) doesn’t make them bad fans; it makes them loyal fans.

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, folks.

capitalist piglet on March 31, 2008 at 2:58 AM

Indeed. Whoever wins in November, I suspect a lot of people will be missing Dubya, sooner or later.

I laughed (through my tears) for days after Reagan passed away when polls should him at 70% approval ratings and ALL the pundits were saying glowing things – some of the same people that loathed him two decades ago.

When Dubya dies, it’ll be the same. People forget how much Reagan was hated.

I do love the Prez. I really do. I disagree with him sometimes, I’ve been disappointed at times … but I’ve never forgotten how I felt about him after 9/11 … or how proud I was to vote for him in 2004.

People can argue his presidency all they want, but he’s a good man. I will miss him.

And he does throw a pretty mean pitch.

The booing was classless. Heck, I even shook Billy Jeff’s hand once. NO jokes please. ;)

I’ve seen games all across the country and DC fans are by far the worst.

Petulant, whiney, little knowledge of the game, continually getting up during play to go get another bucket of Diet Pepsi, profane, unfriendly and rude.

I attend a lot of Nats games and used to root for the home team, even though they’re not my favorite.

No more – I have two favorite teams now – the Pittsburgh Pirates and whatever team is in town against the Nats. At least one of them will be a winner.

NoDonkey on March 31, 2008 at 8:32 AM

So you were born and raised in DC area? I was, and we’re awesome fans. The bad fans are the transients that move to my hometown, jump on some bandwagon then always jump off onto whatever team is winning at the time because their hometown didn’t have any sports team. Redskins fans stick by their team through thick and thin. If in fact DC is your hometown then you, yourself are an example of a bad fan if you’re so willing to switch teams. Not to be rude or petulant, just being honest with you.

I wouldn’t boo a sitting President, no matter who he was. It’s juvenile and anti-America. I’m sick of it.

Connie on March 30, 2008 at 9:37 PM

Amen and ditto.

This is why you’re conservative and not liberal. Maturity is the most basic ingredient that separates the two.

Booing is stupid and classless – particularly at such a non-political event.

Liberals can never separate out the politics and treat people like … people.

It’s yet another constant hypocrisy. It’s sad.

The great thing though is listening to sports radio here when the Redskins implode.

The entitlement mentality seeps through to sports.

You stay classy, District of Crack.

Kid from Brooklyn on March 31, 2008 at 8:24 AM

BAHAHAHA!

As for the most important part of the clip: nice pitch. He went to the top of the mound, put a little gas on it, and delivered it high but over the plate. Nice.

soldiers turn(ed) their
backs on…Bill Clinton

I’ll tell you, the thing that started it all was a picture of Bill Clinton getting off Marine One and some right wing bozo said it proved the Marines cared so little for him that they didn’t salute and turned their back to him as he exited the plane. It might have made some snarling conservatives happy to think so, but I tell you what ~ it pissed the H*LL out of the Marines when we saw it. major dad zipped off a ‘high heat’ reply to a liberal cousin who sent it around as proof that there was a military fascist conspiracy. Ignorant lies. The Snopes page on it is right here and the most important point from the Marines is included. It is a most grievous insult to the professionalism of the HMX Marines ( or ANY Marine for that matter) to infer that they would ever do less than their duty or ~ regardless of personal opinion ~ perform with anything LESS than the vaunted professionalism we are so very proud of and hold so very dear.

It’s also a sterling example of why people who blindly forward emails (just because they sound like something you’d want to be so) without verifying the material do ever so much more harm than good to whatever their cause.

Half the country couldn’t read when Lincoln was president.

Sue on March 30, 2008 at 11:01 PM

Well that’s more than can read now!