I grew up in Herndon, and was a Senators fan, though, under Dad's Yankee influence Mickey Mantle was my favorite player until he retired when I was 9 - then Frank Howard took that spot in my heart.
I always took my glove to the stadium, though never really came close to catching a ball. My first time going to an MLB game was Senators hosting the Tigers, probably around 1964. That was the first time I tried keeping score. I just copied the line score down on the scorecard. Mostly though, until I was at least 6 or 7, I remember sitting in a big white vinyl recliner with dad, asking him a thousand questions about the game. Another big game was one I didn't attend. For whatever reason, Casey Cox getting his first MLB hit was a big deal - it was the talk at school all the next day. You would have thought the Senators won the World Series with all the excitement. I remember one game shortly before the Senator left, I thought it was Toby Harrah (KenzaFan, though, looked it up and it was somebody else, but I don't remember who - for over 30 years I though it was Harrah), who hit a walk-off HR to beat the Yankees. Dad wasn't happy, and it was a long ride home. We went to see one of Mantle's last games, and he didn't play. I spent the entire game staring into the Yankee dugout. Otherwise, I don't remember anything about that game.
Then Bob Short ripped out our hearts and barbequed them Texas Style, I followed Dad's lead an became a Yankees fan, though mostly watched O's games. The aerial TV reception on, I think it was channel 13 from Baltimore was lousy, and the birds were always playing in the snow, but we watched almost nightly and listened to Chuck Thompson(?).
I still fondly remember the Shaeffer beer and Ballentine beer jingles from the old Senators games, and then the Eskay Franks commercials from the O's games. I think some tire company sponsored the O's player of the game. I don't think I've every had either a Shaeffer or Ballentine beer, but in a way they are my favorites.
I remainded a Yankees fan even after moving down here to Boca Raton and after we got the Marlins. The Marlins became a close 2nd favorite. I had a great run '96 - 2000 when one or the other won the WS. I wondered, in '97, how I'd feel if the Yankees and Marlins met in the World Series. At that time, I would have probably still gone with the Yankees - not enough history with the Marlins. Then came the 2003 spring training, and there was something special about the Marlins team. The guys were playing the game it was supposed to be played, and really enjoying it. It was the kind of team you'd have given your left nut to be part of. Even though they started off slow in the regular season, by April I was hooked on the Fish. Then came the World Series, and I was shocked at how easy it was to root against the Yankees. Non only did my #1 and #2 switch, but the distance between them was huge.
Then along came the Nationals. I'm convinced that nobody outside of DC was more excited about the Nationals coming to DC was more excited than myself. I've lived in Florida for 17 years, but DC is still home. I feel more for the Nats than I ever felt for the Yankees. They are still my #2, just behind the Fish, but it's darn close.
This weekend, my daughter decided to switch at the 11th hour, and will now be attending college in DC (Catholic University), so I'll be spending more time in DC, and getting to love the Nats even more no matter what their record, manager, pitching coach, etc. Sally & I were all set to go up and take jobs at JMU in the fall, but with one of her sisters suffering from advanced MS, another in stage IV of leukemia, and her dad having had 2 more open heart surgeries in May, that is looking doubtful. But, with Emily in DC, my parents in Stuarts Draft, several FAU players in the Shenandoah Valley League, and my company now based in Reston, I'll probably, like last year, seen more Nats home games than Marlins home games.
