The DC Nationals

by Will Wilkinson on November 20, 2004

OK. So the baseball team name is a drag. It sounds like the damn airport. But where were the Reagan legacy people? The DC Reagan Nationals would at least inspire passion. How long before the “The Nationals: America’s Team” crap starts?

dik

when dc finally figured out that the bullets weren't helping the city's image as the murder capital, they had several finalists competing with the wizards. i'm still grateful there are no washington seadogs... also, williams made the good point that washington has no senators... but yes, nationals=lame.

Marie

That doesn't enthuse me. Gnats are not imposing. It's obviously been too long since the decisionmakers have been in elementary school.

Joe Grossberg

Eh, well people will probably call them the Nats, like the Sixers (Seventy-sixers) or Knicks (Knickerbockers).

glynn

This native Washingtonian would like nothing more than to root for the Washington Monuments.

Marie

I preferred the Washington Lobby.

Evan McElravy

Back in 1905, they tried to stick the Nationals name on the Washington ball team but the fans rejected it as the bummer it was. I'm not sure "the Senators" amounted to much of an improvement, really, but I suspect that if they bothered to poll the local sentiment today, that name would still beat out "the Nationals." Of course, major league baseball management has given up caring a fuck at all about the fans, so it's all academic.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/yearly/yr1905n.shtml