The slow and steady decay of RFK

The slow and steady decay of RFK
Originally uploaded by Butch Wynegar.

Day 2 of the trip: watched the Nats win their 9th straight. More importantly: watched DC acting like a real sports town - the crowd was as enthusiastic and knowledgeable as any I've seen. The Nats pulled out a win in the bottom of the 8th, and, unusually for DC, almost nobody left early to "beat the rush", even though it was, by a conservative estimate, 138 degrees with 90% humidity. If you've ever wondered what it's like to watch a baseball game while being waterboarded, seek no further. And if you've ever wondered who Manager of the Year should be, seek no further: how Frank Robinson is keeping his team of rejects, limpers, losers, noodle-arms, knuckleheads, moon-howlers, lunatics, and nutcases from killing each other and a few unlucky fans every night -- much less crafting them into a winning team -- is beyond me. I suspect it's Benzedrine + hypnotism, but I don't know.

I yield to no DC native in cheering baseball's return; I hope the Nats lay waste to the NL East before going down in flames to the Cubbies. That said, RFK is a stinking hellhole, and the sooner it's torn down the better. If nothing else, it helps you appreciate just how wrong Daniel Snyder got the new Redskins stadium; how anyone could produce nostalgia for this creaky, cavernous monstrosity by the Anacostia is beyond me. It combines the ambience of a bus station men's room, the hygiene of, well, a bus station men's room, and the comfort of -- yes, again -- a bus station men's room to produce what has to be the worst stadium in the majors.

You will notice I omitted Ballpark Dinner tonight. I ate a greasy, horsemeat-stuffed condom (they claim it was a hot dog; I have parasite tests that say otherwise) and spent the rest of the evening on a rocking boat in a storm. Pack your own dinner.

My kvetching aside, do go see a Nats game; if you're reading this, you're a hardier soul than I, and they are in fact a good team, and it's great to see baseball back in the D of C. - JF