By Jack
Evans
On Saturday, I flew down to Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, with Mayor Williams and Mark Tuohey, Chair of the DC
Sports and Entertainment Commission to watch our home team, the
Washington Nationals, play the Baltimore Orioles at an exhibition
game in spring training.
First, let me begin by telling you the setting was beautiful.
Florida is warm this time of year, in contrast to our frigid weather.
Second, the stadiums for spring training are all AAA ball clubs
- small, with an average of 8,000 seats. You really have the feeling
you are part of the game. And what a game it was. There were many
hits, plenty of action, and the Nationals were down 5-4 at the
top of the ninth inning. A four-run rally put us ahead 9-5 and,
after one run by the Orioles, we finished it off with a 9-6 win.
How delicious – beating Baltimore on their home field.
The next day we drove up to Viera, the spring training home of
the Nationals and witnessed their third win in a row over the
Houston Astros. Another barnburner.
The Mayor and I met for lunch with Congressman Welton, who represents
the area, and five local County Commissioners. They were very
excited the Nationals made their spring training home at Space
Coast Stadium – it is close to Cape Canaveral, hence the
name.
It was interesting to see so many DC people at both games. On
the plane ride down, there were many people going to Florida specifically
for the game. At Viera, half the crowd was from DC.
I truly believe having a baseball team in Washington will be a
boost for our town. Everywhere I go, people stop me to talk about
it. I know those who opposed it are still angry, but the time
has come to move forward.
Renovation of RFK Stadium is on schedule. The first exhibition
game is Sunday, April 3, and opening day is Thursday, April 14,
with President Bush throwing out the first pitch.
As I sat in the sun in the late afternoon watching our team play,
it reminded me of days gone by – and things yet to come.
I can't wait to go out to RFK.
- Jack Evans is the duly elected DC Councilman from Ward Two.
His column appears in each edition.
