I know this is only (on the surface at least) tangentally involving politics, but I wanted to take a few moments to note my absolute jubilitation that baseball is gonna be back in D.C.
I just contributed nicely to the local economy -- though some liberals have argued that the money I purchased tickets with will in no way wind up going into the city coffers in D.C., and that D.C.'s politicians -- especially the Mayor -- have done nothing more than reward a bunch of rich robber barons that held them for ransom so they'd get a sweet heart stadium deal.
I normally would be one of the first to laugh and sneer at D.C.'s political problems. They're a prime example of incompetence in many ways, having teetered so badly on the brink of bankruptcy that the U.S. congress stepped in and put a Financial Control board in place to make them get their financial house back in order.
But I really must salute Mayor Anthony Williams for his efforts to bring the MLB back to D.C. after a 30+ year absence.
Did Mayor Williams (and by extension that city Council in D.C.) overpay baseball to get the team? Yes. But then they had no real choice. MLB could have easily taken the team to say Portland, or Vegas, or Monterrey or another locale and left the District of Columbia with nothing. Instead of the nations capital serving as hosts for America's Past-time, we'd have another year where fans of baseball would have to stuff money into the pockets of a money grubbing robber baron of the highest degree -- Peter Angelos (who is still trying to cause troubles for D.C. baseball, but that's another story) -- just to watch the equivalent of a AAA minor league team (for the most part) that has been put on the field in uniforms that used to be worn by some of baseball's best.
In future years, D.C. will build a stadium that will be the envy of all others. It will be built in an area of D.C. that has been blighted for years. Instead of bars and clubs targetted at gays and lesbians, we'll see family restaraunts, sports bars, and other family friendly businesses around a beautiful new ball park. The infrastructure in the area will be improved, there'll be new parks and green areas to serve as buffer zones, and neighboring businesses will benefit from the foot traffic that will pour through on the way to and from games.
It's with great pride that I ordered tickets to several games in D.C., even if it's at an older stadium more known for the glory days of the Washington Redskins. I'll take my seat with my son next to me, and I'll wait impatiently for the first pitch, and sit until the last, when I can climb on the Metro train and ride out of town savoring the win or lamenting the loss. I'll have a belly stuffed with hotdogs, pop-corn and maybe even a splash of over-priced Bud or Bud Light. I may get a bit of a sunburn from sitting in my cheap seats, and I may be sad because the hitters that day didn't oblige by driving one out to my section of the seats. But I'll be in D.C. watching baseball. A joy and priviledge I've not had in my mature lifetime, at least not in the city I neighbor and favor as my "hometown" area.
I'll still love my O's, even as I hate on their owner and wish that he'd sell the team and move on. I'll still pick up the news papers and read the box scores for them and cry a little inside when the lose to the hated Yankees. I'll hope good things for the youngsters on that team, and may celebrate a bit if Sammy Sosa smacks out homeruns on a frequent basis (though I'd rather see some of the younger players, without doubts about steroid usage, be the ones doing that). Who knows, if someone offers me tickets for a game in good ole Crammed-in-yards, I may actually take the tickets and go, though I still have an unwritten rule of my own about not paying for tickets there while Angelos continues to own and exercise heavy handed management of the team.
But on most nights this summer, and hopefully for many to come, I'll be tuning into my team, watching them play their hearts out, and during those times, I'll actually be saying thanks to D.C. for getting something right. For bringing back baseball so that myself, my neighbors, and the hundreds of thousands of tourists that come to the area each year will be able to enjoy the games. I'll gladly buy food, drinks, and souvenirs and pay taxes on those items that I hope go to helping to repair the run-down schools in D.C., or patch the roads there. Maybe some of the money will go toward keeping the Metro system running nicely. Along the way, I'll be glad to know that the people that sold me my food or drinks had jobs that provided them income to do their own purchasing with. I'll gladly give the peanut vendor my money and say "keep the change" along the way, even though my wife would smack me for over-paying and wasting "our" money in doing so. I'll hope that spare change, and the change of many others along the way helps to make life a little easier for the vendor and puts just a little more into a college fund, or helps to pay for a new car, or whatever purchase that individual wants to make with their money.
I'll get to use the time in my seats to talk to my friends that go to the games with me, or best yet, to sit and bond with my quickly maturing son. We can talk about sports, argue about politics of the day or just sit and watch a great game being played in front of us.
It's gonna be a great summer in D.C. and though after the last strike/work stoppage and with the growing scandal about steroids and other performance enchancers I thought I might never really want to be a fan again, it'll be because baseball is back.
Thanks Mayor Williams, thanks council members, and thanks MLB.
