What I'd like to see is someone to notice that attendance is up, big time, vs. same stage last year. Those 16,000 - 17,000 crowds would have been 11,000 or so last year (OK, maybe not for novelty Stras, but even by his final september starts attendance started to taper off).
I don't think the Caps playoff run really affects attendance that much. Just a guess, but I doubt there are 5000 Old Chelseas who go to both and make a choice. Even the Old Chelseas have their season tickets, so they count as tickets sold for the Nats. I don't think there is 1000 who go to the Caps, don't have season tickets to the Nats, yet would have walked up to Nats Park but for the conflicting games. Maybe there are a few folks who
who went to bars to watch both at once, but I don't think that depressed turn out by 10,000 butts.