Returning for a moment to the story about the pile of manure, the little boy, and the pony. Boy-oh-boy, the shit is on fire isn’t it! I expect that nearly everyone has seen the comments on what Stan and the Nationals may or may not have done to facilitate (even encourage?) the invasion by Phillies fans. Read about it everywhere: from a source that tends to be a little snarky, in the Washington Post, in a fan blog, and in a virtual therapy session (130 comments and counting) over at Mark Zuckerman’s Nats Insider.
Yesterday, I decided to focus on the pony, but I’d be lying if I said all the rage didn’t resonate with me. So why do I feel so angry?
This might sound like a chick comment, but I think it’s about feelings. Nationals fans love their team, often despite the baseball. A lot of us spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars on tickets, while feeling like the organization doesn’t care, or probably more accurately, doesn’t care enough about us. It’s a little bit like a bad relationship where she’s totally obsessed, and he’s just not that into her.
If this fangirl’s instinct is to look for a pony, the organization’s instinct should be to look for shovels. Some of the shovels are about scouting and development and everything else, including spending, to improve the baseball.
But there’s another shovel out there, just waiting for someone to pick it up. This shovel deals with feelings and requires the Nationals organization to reach out to fans to say, “Yikes! We didn’t want that to happen. Beginning today, we’ll work harder to show you how much we care about Nationals fans and how we’re working to build a bigger fan base.” The Nationals organization could be all wrong, or it could be more complicated than it appears, but it doesn’t really matter. What matters is what every smart husband or boyfriend or significant other knows, the path to reconciliation starts not with being defensive, but rather with saying, “I’m sorry.”
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April 6th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I think you’re absolutely right about this, and no, it’s not a chick comment at all. One of the most annoying things about this whole episode was to hear StanK’s lame excuses — “well, we tried to limit them, but not too much”, “group sales go on all winter long”. Yeah right. The idea that Nats fans need to form groups in order to get tickets to their own home opener is ridiculous and insulting. It reminds me alot of the initial reaction to the Purple Tunnel of Doom fiasco at the inauguration– the Capitol Police and inaugural organizers claiming at first that there was really wrong with their planning, that the crowds were much bigger than expected, that the purple ticket areas were overrun by interlopers, etc. All demonstrably untrue. Then the outrage grew big enough that they launched an investigation and concluded that they did, in fact, screw up, bigtime. And 10-15 thousand people or so were caught in the crossfire. So an amazing thing happened. They apologized (and sent some lame, but nonetheless thoughtful, souvenirs to all the purple ticket holders who had complained or commented.) So let’s hope that StanK and the Nats learned a lesson here and will make changes for next year. And they ought to apologize to the fans and promise to do better. That would be a big step for this franchise that never admits they messed up, even though they have two straight worst in baseball seasons to show for their efforts.
April 7th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Yeah! Now there’s the kind of blog post I was looking for. Bookmark this page Jenn is on fire.
And one more thing, Kasten wears Mommy pants.
April 7th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Tried to comment last night, but it apparently vanished into the ether. This post is exactly right, and not a chick comment at all. The most annoying thing at this point is the excuses and rationalizations from Nats management — “we always sell to groups in the offseason,” “we tried to limit the out of town fans, but not too much.” Baloney. The idea that Nats fans have to assemble a group of 25 to attend their own home team’s home opener is ridiculous.
This reminds me alot of the initial reaction to the Purple Tunnel of Doom fiasco at the Inauguration. At first, the Capitol Police Chief and the inaugural organizers were full of excuses and blameshifting — “the crowds were much bigger than anticipated,” “the purple ticket area was full from people crashing in from other sections,” all demonstrably false. Then they did an actual investigation and solicited comments from people who were stuck in that tunnel and missed the inauguration. And they found out that they did, in fact, screw up, big time. The results were publicized and an amazing thing happened — the inaugural organizers APOLOGIZED. They even sent a letter to everyone who had written in, along with some souvenirs and pictures.
The Nats’ management needs to learn from that example. They need to admit they messed up, figure out what went wrong, and promise it will NEVER happen again. And then they need to make sure it doesn’t. A little honesty and humility will go a long way. That’s the only way to get past this. And it would be a breath of fresh air from a group for whom excuses and blameshifting have become a habit — which is pretty annoying after two 100-loss seasons.
April 7th, 2010 at 7:04 am
I was mortified after I read the Post today and Stan’s comments. His first reaction should have been \I was disgusted too. What a nightmare–booing the president, booing our starting line-up on our Opening Day. I am very sorry for our loyal season ticket holders who had to endure that\. Then he can start his little spin.
We all know how welcoming Citzen’s Bank Park is, right? I’m pissed too. Welcome Back to NatsTown?
April 7th, 2010 at 7:32 am
This is not going to be popular, but I will say it anyway…there is partial blame to be laid on Nationals “fans.” I’ve said this for years. If you want Nats fans in the seats, then Nats fans need to buy tickets. And if more Nats fans buy tickets and fill seats throughout the season, then ownership and management can stop catering to other teams’ fans to come down and fill those seats, and they might even decide to block group sales on our Opening Days. And I don’t want to hear that the condition of our fans buying tickets should be that DC provide a winning team. Take a cue from the Cubs and their fans. 10 years I lived in Chicago and 10 years many Chicagoans called them The Flubs. But tickets were hard to come by, games sold out anyway. People came. I know the Cubs are an established team with established fans, etc. but you have to start somewhere.
That being said, if Phillies fans still come on down here, I wish the obnoxious ones would take cue from the Cubs fans of the nation, too. Have pride in your team, fill away stadiums with as many of your fans as you can if you wish, but respect the home team and respect the game.
Of course, to keep the Chicago comparison going, the District needs to help out. I’ve said this for years as well…Wrigleyville is one of the best places to go to have a pre- and post-game experience. Heck, people hang out in Wrigleyville on game days even when they don’t have tickets to see the game. If people could have an ‘experience’ as well as a game near Nationals Park, more people would come to games and the team would be popular.
April 7th, 2010 at 7:37 am
here, here!
April 7th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Sec 222-We’re aware of the problem with comments (I’m having trouble commenting too); hope to fix it soon.
PB-Give me a little time while I figure out how far I plan to go out on the ledge with this blogging thing.