Share your fandom story

[bluestreak]

I moved here in 2014. My friend bought me tickets to Game 2 NLDS as a welcome to town gift. It was painful for me and I was just starting my fandom.  I started cheering for the Nats then as my NL team as I am a big Tigers fan. When Max signed here that sealed the deal as he was my favorite player in Detroit. I never looked back, eventually got a season plan and have gone all in. I haven’t suffered as much as you guys, but I have my Tiger pain to make up for it (bullpen implosions and all). I don’t have years of DC fandom, but I’m still loving all of this and can’t get enough of WS Fever!

[rbw5t]

I'm a reformed Mets fan - was a little kid in the mid-80s.  My first game was Gooden/Valenzuela at Shea in '85.  Dodgers won 6-2, one of Gooden's 4 losses that year (24-4).  Went through heartbreak as an 8-year old when the Mets lost to the Cards down the stretch in '85, and then had the sweet taste of success in '86 as a nine year old.  Dwight Gooden was my hero, and 16 is still my favorite number.  They were hard to root for in the '90s, and when we got a team I became a Mets/Nats co-fan for a couple of years.  I started going to a ton of games in '09, and very quickly became all Nats, all the time!  I think the shift was accelerated by having kids of my own, because it's so much more satisfying to be invested together in the home team.  I wasn't at RFK much, but have been to almost all of the most memorable games at Nats Park -- Stras's debut, some visiting achievements (Randy Johnson's 300th win, Pujols 500th and 600th homers, I think?), both home no-hitters, Max's 20 Ks, Zim's homer off Miller against the Yanks in extra innings, every postseason home game we've ever played, etc.  (Was at the big comeback against the Mets in September, but left early. First week of school for kids.)

Having lived through all the elimination game defeats, I feel mostly hardened to the sting of disappointment, and anything we did this postseason was gravy.  And I'm glad there's been so much gravy!!

[expos1994]

Back in 1992. My mom used to have to go to Monmouth, Illinois to buy inventory for her business.
I would go with her and she would drop me off in Burlington, Iowa at the Bees game. The Burlington Bees at the time were single-A affiliates of the Montreal Expos. I sat and watched the game and she picked me up after.

The Expos at the time had a great farm system and it was starting to show at the big league level. I think it was prospects like Cliff Floyd and Rondell White who really got me interested in the Expos. I just began following the team thinking those Bees players would eventually play for the big league team. The only one that did I think was Jose Vidro.

Anyway... Being a fan of this team hasn't always been easy and it hasn't always been fun but....

27 years later and we're finally in the World Series!!!

[varoadking]

Coladar would appreciate this thread... 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Not a shock that the Nats were not my first baseball love.  1st Red Sox game was the day after RFK died, moment of silence.  2d Sox game I remember going to was Sonny Siebert beating Vida Blue his rookie year.  Have stayed loyal over the years moving here. Got into an office season ticket group to OPACY when DC did not get a team in 1992, moved back to Boston after 1997 for the Garciaparra / Pedro years, then moved here for good in 2003.

Nats were a slowly acquired taste for me in the early years.  I had followed the Expos over the years, were happy they were saved, but split my ticket purchases between Nats (our group switched to the Nats when the Expos moved here) and OPACY weekends because I still was an AL guy.  Gradually, I dropped the OPACY trips except for Sox and started to really get into the Nats during the down years. Maybe the fantasy manager / budding saber view of things got me interested in potential moves, scrap heap reclamations, displaced AL guys, and prospects during the '05 run and '06-'07.  Went to Nats Park opener and a bunch of games in '08 and '09 (including the 3 Sox games where I was full on rooting for the away club). Managed to see both Zimmermann's debut and Strasmas.  Made a lot of comments on the WaPos articles of Svrluga and Harlan, then drifted to WNFF in '09 when comment rules changed and someone mentioned this site.  Really liked the back and forth here, liked thinking of ways to be competitive (hence my love of platoons, which led to my avi and just
<-----  whenever I use the word).  Took over my SPH group in 2010, I think, as there was a huge drop off in interest in my office, but I nurse it along through to the better times. By 2011, I am really over the top about Zimmermann and start the "Extennd Zimmermann" thread, which kind of kicked off the Extend threads.  By 2012, after my nephew's wedding, we're packing  up and I'm watching Nats at Red Sox, and find myself more focused  on the Nats than the Sox (the Beckett / A-Gon / Crawford era, can you blame me?).  Yes, I'm still a "dual loyalty" guy, reasoning that they are only rivals if they meet in a world series, something I really hoped for in 2016 & 2017.  However, I follow the Nats much more closely than my original team and I pledge to be happy if they ever meet in a world series.  Timing was a little off in 2018 and 2019, but it's nice to have a chance to go personally back to back and dream of a match up in the future.

[Traded For Mclain]

I followed the expansion Senators in the late 60’s/early ‘70’s, idolized Frank Howard.  Hondo was by far the most popular athlete in DC in those days, none of the Redskins at the time were as popular.  I was on the waiting list for season tickets for a new team since the ‘90”s then when it was announced the Expos were moving here I became a STH from 2005 until 2016 when I moved down here to Charleston, SC.  It’s been quite a ride with the Senators and Nats.....last night was just amazing. 

[Copecwby20]

Growing up, I was never a baseball fan. I tried playing it... T-Ball, Little League... all of it. I just wasn't good. In third grade, I tried out for little league and was basically the last kid chosen. I went an entire season without getting a hit. On the last game of what would be my last season I finally put bat on to ball and legged out what I thought would be my first ever hit. I got thrown out and my love for the game died with my feeble attempt at batting prowess.

My mom eventually ended up dating this guy who was a big Cubs fan (they are both originally from Chicago, life just happened to take them to California) and that is where baseball in my family started as far as I knew. I was never super in to it... it was just a thing we did. If the Cubs came out to San Francisco, we would make a whole weekend of it and go see Museums (a big nerdy thing my Family likes to do) and then spend the evening at Candlestick. They eventually got married and over the years, the Cubs were the family team. As I grew up, I never gained an interest in baseball but when I was active duty in the Marine Corps, I was lucky enough to be stationed down in San Diego. When the Cubs came to town they would plan a big weekend to come visit me and we would go grab a game or two. At this time, I'm still not a baseball fan or a Cubs fan but any chance to see my family was welcome.

From there I received orders to Virginia where I was to report to Headquarters Marine Corps, Training Command. Just a dude with orders and no friend circle. From there I linked up with a guy that was looking for a roommate that had an amazing log cabin on like 12 acres down in Fredericksburg. We became roommates and fast friends. I'm a bit of a social butterfly, yet he is not. He is however, a HUGE sports fan. So he would always talk about football, and baseball and yadda yadda. At this particular time in my life, I was not a fan of sports in general, or baseball specifically but I was a huge fan of chasing tail. I saw that the Nats were doing a post game concert with Dierks Bently and I tell my friend that we should buy 2 tickets a piece because offering girls in F-Burg, Va tickets to a country concert is about as close to a slam dunk as you can get. We do that, we get dates and as women are known to do, they delay us. We waited for my buddy's date until about the 3rd inning and as we were coming in from the older, much larger Bullpen party area, one of the old Nats catchers hit a home run. Had a blast at the game from then on and became obsessed with the team sense (Dierks couldn't play that night, so he was replaced with Big and Rich)

From there I started watching games every night. Like Every night. I started dating a new girl (not the one I took to my first game) and she became a huge fan. She then introduced me to her children who became huge Nat's fans. That was our thing. I wasn't making a lot of money at the time but I could always find a way to scratch together enough to get us cheap seats to a game. I remember back when the Pretzels were Curly W's and we would have to share 2 between the 4 of us because we couldn't afford an extravagance such as pretzels. And then I have to move away.

I move away from the DC area and decide that I'm gonna keep watching Nats Ball. I got mlb.tv, I bought season tickets in Atlanta so I could always see the Nats when they came to town and that was great. But it wasn't Nats Park. Eventually ended up in Florida for 3 years and WAS NOT HAPPY so I started looking around. I had an offer to move to Japan and accepted but it fell through at the last minute. I was butt hurt and went back to my old gig not expecting to hear back only to be contacted in September of 2018. They asked me if there was anywhere else I wanted to work and I immediately knew that I wanted to come back to the National Capital Region so I could be a season ticket holder.

Here I am and here we are. I love it. Let's Go Nats!

[Mathguy]

I grew up where the Yankee & Red Sox fans meet.  It was definitely the line, for one town to the east the vibe was all Red Sox & one town to the west, it was all Yankees.  It's sort of like growing up on Capitol Hill, only we were fighting over baseball instead of politics.

This was the 1960's & 70's.  I've lost more bets than you can possibly imagine.  So I'm rooting for the Yankees vs Astros, so I can win some of those bets back.

[The Chief]

That is the most The Chief thing I’ve ever heard...

I figured someone here would appreciate that

[vicki4471]

Oddly enough I was living in Charlotte, NC at the time 2012 and was randomly flipping channels when I heard the commentator (whom I assume was either Bob or FP ) hyping up the 19 year old phenom Bryce Harper. It was five minutes in to me watching and he got plunked by Cole Hamels and then stole home. At that moment I was hooked. I watched every game. Bryce brought me to the Nats but I stayed after he left because I fell in love with the whole team and the fandom along the way. At the time I started watching I was working in a restaurant in Charlotte and one of the cooks was a huge Nats fan born and raised in DC. He lived and breathed the Nats so our friendship grew from there. He was an older guy so I think he just liked having someone to chat with. He told me about this forum he was a member of and told me to come check it out. Here I am. I moved the next year to where I live today but still kept up with him and the Nats of course. After the 2014 heartbreak I got a message from his sister that he had passed away. He was walking home from work and collapsed. She made me smile by telling me he died in his Nats jacket. All he ever talked about was wanting to see them play in a world series. Tuesday night was particularly emotional for me because I thought about Big Mike and how happy this would have made him. I do not know what his name was on this forum or if any of you had crossed paths with him. I hope some of you did. He was a great Nats fan and a great guy.

[BCH89]

When I was in high school I worked selling concessions at RFK Stadium in 2007-2008

[Natsinpwc]

Oddly enough I was living in Charlotte, NC at the time 2012 and was randomly flipping channels when I heard the commentator (whom I assume was either Bob or FP ) hyping up the 19 year old phenom Bryce Harper. It was five minutes in to me watching and he got plunked by Cole Hamels and then stole home. At that moment I was hooked. I watched every game. Bryce brought me to the Nats but I stayed after he left because I fell in love with the whole team and the fandom along the way. At the time I started watching I was working in a restaurant in Charlotte and one of the cooks was a huge Nats fan born and raised in DC. He lived and breathed the Nats so our friendship grew from there. He was an older guy so I think he just liked having someone to chat with. He told me about this forum he was a member of and told me to come check it out. Here I am. I moved the next year to where I live today but still kept up with him and the Nats of course. After the 2014 heartbreak I got a message from his sister that he had passed away. He was walking home from work and collapsed. She made me smile by telling me he died in his Nats jacket. All he ever talked about was wanting to see them play in a world series. Tuesday night was particularly emotional for me because I thought about Big Mike and how happy this would have made him. I do not know what his name was on this forum or if any of you had crossed paths with him. I hope some of you did. He was a great Nats fan and a great guy.

You made me cry.

[vicki4471]

You made me cry.

I hadn't even realized myself how emotional I was about the whole thing until they won and it his me like a ton of bricks.

[imref]

I hadn't even realized myself how emotional I was about the whole thing until they won and it his me like a ton of bricks.

yeah.  wish we knew his screen name.

[vicki4471]

yeah.  wish we knew his screen name.

I do too. His name was Mike.. Everyone called him big Mike. Born in raised in DC moved to Fort Mill SC , was a cook at cracker barrel died December 2014, does this ring a bell to anyone here.... any regular posters like that who just suddenly disappeared? I was often wondering if any one here knew of him.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

somehow I vaguely remember we may have tried to chase down who this guy was be reconstructing it. Maybe you had flagged it for us.

[Baseball is Life]

Here's Maury Povich's fandom story.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/10/16/maury-povich-who-was-a-senators-bat-boy-in-the-40s-on-what-the-nats-win-means-to-him/?fbclid=IwAR0TeTP5H1JbOM6vuXn1neiWY0VQHcnNCx_9WCq90Q_2sGklmz79poHP9Rc

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

 

Oddly enough I was living in Charlotte, NC at the time 2012 and was randomly flipping channels when I heard the commentator (whom I assume was either Bob or FP ) hyping up the 19 year old phenom Bryce Harper. It was five minutes in to me watching and he got plunked by Cole Hamels and then stole home. At that moment I was hooked. I watched every game. Bryce brought me to the Nats but I stayed after he left because I fell in love with the whole team and the fandom along the way. At the time I started watching I was working in a restaurant in Charlotte and one of the cooks was a huge Nats fan born and raised in DC. He lived and breathed the Nats so our friendship grew from there. He was an older guy so I think he just liked having someone to chat with. He told me about this forum he was a member of and told me to come check it out. Here I am. I moved the next year to where I live today but still kept up with him and the Nats of course. After the 2014 heartbreak I got a message from his sister that he had passed away. He was walking home from work and collapsed. She made me smile by telling me he died in his Nats jacket. All he ever talked about was wanting to see them play in a world series. Tuesday night was particularly emotional for me because I thought about Big Mike and how happy this would have made him. I do not know what his name was on this forum or if any of you had crossed paths with him. I hope some of you did. He was a great Nats fan and a great guy.

[Copecwby20]

Something I forgot to add to my original post about my budding fandom.

As a new baseball fan, there is a lot of things you don’t understand. This forum in particular gave me a resource and wealth of insight into a game that I was just learning how to love. I never hid my newness to the game, and often took pokes and light hearted jabs about it but at the end of the day, WNFF was an invaluable resource.

So thanks for that guys. For all your flaws, you really know how to help a new guy out.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Nice.  When I was in high school I worked as a bike messenger and got run off the road and yelled at a lot.  Your pick was way better.   

When I was in high school I worked selling concessions at RFK Stadium in 2007-2008

[sixthree175]

Oddly enough I was living in Charlotte, NC at the time 2012 and was randomly flipping channels when I heard the commentator (whom I assume was either Bob or FP ) hyping up the 19 year old phenom Bryce Harper. It was five minutes in to me watching and he got plunked by Cole Hamels and then stole home. At that moment I was hooked. I watched every game. Bryce brought me to the Nats but I stayed after he left because I fell in love with the whole team and the fandom along the way. At the time I started watching I was working in a restaurant in Charlotte and one of the cooks was a huge Nats fan born and raised in DC. He lived and breathed the Nats so our friendship grew from there. He was an older guy so I think he just liked having someone to chat with. He told me about this forum he was a member of and told me to come check it out. Here I am. I moved the next year to where I live today but still kept up with him and the Nats of course. After the 2014 heartbreak I got a message from his sister that he had passed away. He was walking home from work and collapsed. She made me smile by telling me he died in his Nats jacket. All he ever talked about was wanting to see them play in a world series. Tuesday night was particularly emotional for me because I thought about Big Mike and how happy this would have made him. I do not know what his name was on this forum or if any of you had crossed paths with him. I hope some of you did. He was a great Nats fan and a great guy.

Bittersweet.  It reminds me of why Harper is all about the money.  He stole home in 2012 because he hustled.  In 2018 he wanted to preserve his body, so he decided to NOT hustle.  Good riddance.

[sixthree175]

It's great that everyone shared his/her story.  Next time around maybe it would be prudent to be a bit more succinct.  Just saying.

[Elvir Ovcina]

It's great that everyone shared his/her story.  Next time around maybe it would be prudent to be a bit more succinct.  Just saying.

If you want the ADD version of exposition, Twitter isn't hard to find.

[sixthree175]

If you want the ADD version of exposition, Twitter isn't hard to find.

Never used twitter.  I purposely didn't single anyone out, so my conscience is clear.  I'm right, and if I can't be honest on WNFF, then WNFF sucks. 

[spidernat]

waiting for that moron deeznatz to post about a strange wind blowing