I’m writing this as history is being made. The Washington Nationals are in Houston about to play game seven of the first World Series in franchise history. In Washington, the party started prior to the opener. If they win tonight the reaction just might dwarf what happened two years ago when the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup. However, Just seeing the Nationals in the Fall Classic seems to have struck a nerve in the city where the franchise originated, my dear home of Montreal.
Any mention of it seems to conjure up demons and people are refusing to cheer for the city that “stole our team.” Allow me to dispel that myth. Washington no more stole the Expos than someone who rescued an abandoned and neglected dog from the pound stole it from it’s previous owner. They didn’t steal them, they gave them a home. To take the analogy further, the Expos had even been put into a foster home, as no one wanted to own them and MLB took the team over. The team was living in an inadequate home that was never built for it and was now crumbling.
After years of frustration due to star players leaving town, a terrible stadium and being told repeatedly the team was moving, even the biggest fans had abandoned the team. I remember going to games where the anounced attendance was below 1000. Fans may have had several reasons to be upset, but none of them had anything to do with Washington. If anything, the city treated the team better than we had since the year that I won’t even bother to name.
I had the pleasure of seeing a game in Washington. It was at the same time as the Capitals were in the second round of the playoffs. I watched the hockey game in a bar downtown and was amazed by the atmosphere. People asked me where I was from because I was the only person in the bar not wearing Caps colours. The next day I went to the ball game and was amazed to find it full and again, everyone was wearing colors. To steal a word from Washington’s most infamous resident, it was tremendous. I got more than a few high fives from fans for my Expos hat, they recognized the connection.
The guy sitting next to me asked me about the hat, I told him I was from Montreal. He expressed his sympathies, he was very gracious about it. I told him it was 10 years ago, all water under the bridge. I had a great time, but here’s the thing, at no moment did I feel like I was watching the Expos. I left with the big surprise that Washington is a fantastic sports town, one that is passionate and loyal despite some shaky teams overt he decades, a trend that was reversed by the Caps. It was clear to me, this city deserves a baseball team.
In all truth, to me they stopped being the Expos after Brad Wilkerson left, which was only a year after the team left. He was the last Expo I had a rooting interest in. What happened after that was the Washington Nationals. To the guy I saw at a Big O preseason game wearing a Harper Expos jersey, do you think Harper and his ego would’ve agreed to stay here? Washington wasn’t even enough for him, but I doubt he would’ve even stuck around Montreal as long as he did.
Still blaming Washington for stealing our team? I notice the same people who still call Washington expletives for stealing our team are the same people chomping at the bit watching situations in Tampa and Oakland worsen. Don’t curse the guy you think stole your girlfriend while you’re trying to steal someone else’s.
So here is the case for letting go. If you want to get into a new relationship, let go of your old one. Ditch the baggage. While you can keep all the good memories you had, let go of the negativity or your new relationship doesn’t stand a chance.
Look at what the Nationals have done. Years of promise have only led to disappointment. Then finally their star player left town on a money train. Seem familiar? If there’s any story we can feel for that’s got to be the one. But here they are, the year after Bryce Harper left town, rising to the biggest stage of all. That should give us the warm and fuzzies.
If you still feel the need to throw your ire around or need to blame someone because it’s easier than blaming ourselves, there’s always the New York Yankees. They started the ridiculous escalation of salaries in the 90s that made it fashionable for free agents to leave small markets. Okay, it wasn’t just them, but they’re baseball fans’ favorite scapegoat and as luck would have it they’ll be visiting Olympic Stadium this spring. So take the opportunity to fill the Big O with Expos jerseys and tell them where to shove it. Show up in numbers and let them know how you feel. I’ll see you all there!
