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| Are Washington sports teams cursed? After Nats loss, despairing fans are certain of it. | Are Washington sports teams cursed? After Nats loss, despairing fans are certain of it. |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Well, of course they lost. | Well, of course they lost. |
| After the Nationals were booted from the playoffs Tuesday night in San Francisco, the local legions who had dared to hope scampered quickly back to the what-did-you-expect cynicism that defines Washington fandom: What happens whenever the tantalizing whiff of “championship” emerges around a D.C. sports team? | After the Nationals were booted from the playoffs Tuesday night in San Francisco, the local legions who had dared to hope scampered quickly back to the what-did-you-expect cynicism that defines Washington fandom: What happens whenever the tantalizing whiff of “championship” emerges around a D.C. sports team? |
| They lose. | They lose. |
| There will be a bad bounce, a bizarre call, a popped Achilles’ tendon or — as in Tuesday’s fresh twist on calamity — a berserker wild pitch that gives away the winning run. Like so many Redskins, Wizards and Capitals fans before, Natstown watched its season fall to the fates. | There will be a bad bounce, a bizarre call, a popped Achilles’ tendon or — as in Tuesday’s fresh twist on calamity — a berserker wild pitch that gives away the winning run. Like so many Redskins, Wizards and Capitals fans before, Natstown watched its season fall to the fates. |
| On Wednesday, with all those W’s suddenly more surly than curly, many fans woke up blaming the dark arts. | On Wednesday, with all those W’s suddenly more surly than curly, many fans woke up blaming the dark arts. |
| “I don’t know what to call it but a curse,” said Jay Anderson, a Silver Spring engineer and one of scores of fans who turned to Twitter. Doomed defeatism was trending under the hashtag #DCSportsCurse. | “I don’t know what to call it but a curse,” said Jay Anderson, a Silver Spring engineer and one of scores of fans who turned to Twitter. Doomed defeatism was trending under the hashtag #DCSportsCurse. |
| Anderson recites a litany of losing: “The Redskins go 3 and 13 every year, the Caps can’t get out of the first round, the Wizards have made the playoffs, like, five time in 20 years, and the Nats lose in the first round each season in spectacular fashion. It’s the same thing time after time after time.” | Anderson recites a litany of losing: “The Redskins go 3 and 13 every year, the Caps can’t get out of the first round, the Wizards have made the playoffs, like, five time in 20 years, and the Nats lose in the first round each season in spectacular fashion. It’s the same thing time after time after time.” |
| Anderson moved to the region in 1995, four years after the 1991 Redskins won the Super Bowl. He keeps a running montage of the misery since: Photos of RGIII and Gilbert Arenas blowing out their knees; Bryce Harper colliding with an outfield wall; Alex Ovechkin collapsed in playoff defeat. He includes a shot of Kwame Brown holding up his first Wizards jersey, before the much-hyped phenom became an expensive flop. | Anderson moved to the region in 1995, four years after the 1991 Redskins won the Super Bowl. He keeps a running montage of the misery since: Photos of RGIII and Gilbert Arenas blowing out their knees; Bryce Harper colliding with an outfield wall; Alex Ovechkin collapsed in playoff defeat. He includes a shot of Kwame Brown holding up his first Wizards jersey, before the much-hyped phenom became an expensive flop. |
| “The one time the Wizards get a number-one draft pick, they get Kwame Brown,” Anderson said. “Tell me that’s not a curse.” | “The one time the Wizards get a number-one draft pick, they get Kwame Brown,” Anderson said. “Tell me that’s not a curse.” |
| Chad Schwartz is an Alexandria cybersecurity analyst and a die-hard, four-team D.C. sports fan. He has also been a frequent witness to wipeouts. Schwartz easily rattles off the playoff meltdowns he’s watched from the stands, including the Nationals’ ninth-inning blowups in 2012 and again Saturday, the Wizard’s second-round elimination in May and Capitals playoff defeats three times in recent years. | Chad Schwartz is an Alexandria cybersecurity analyst and a die-hard, four-team D.C. sports fan. He has also been a frequent witness to wipeouts. Schwartz easily rattles off the playoff meltdowns he’s watched from the stands, including the Nationals’ ninth-inning blowups in 2012 and again Saturday, the Wizard’s second-round elimination in May and Capitals playoff defeats three times in recent years. |
| “I’m really sick of it, to tell you the truth,” said Schwartz, 30. “It’s almost comical at this point. I don’t know how they’re going to lose, but I know they’ll find a way. And it’s usually heartbreaking.” | “I’m really sick of it, to tell you the truth,” said Schwartz, 30. “It’s almost comical at this point. I don’t know how they’re going to lose, but I know they’ll find a way. And it’s usually heartbreaking.” |
| And so Schwartz was braced for Tuesday night’s gut punch. As soon as he sniffed the collapse he knew was coming, he inched closer to the TV. The moment catcher Wilson Ramos tapped the final groundout to second, he hit the off switch. | And so Schwartz was braced for Tuesday night’s gut punch. As soon as he sniffed the collapse he knew was coming, he inched closer to the TV. The moment catcher Wilson Ramos tapped the final groundout to second, he hit the off switch. |
| “I hate seeing other fans happy, especially fans that win all the time,” Schwartz said in a fit of civic envy. “San Francisco has won two World Series in the last four years.” | “I hate seeing other fans happy, especially fans that win all the time,” Schwartz said in a fit of civic envy. “San Francisco has won two World Series in the last four years.” |
| That familiar woe-is-we lament flooded sports talk radio Wednesday: In Washington, the football is always yanked away at the last instant; the parade is always in somebody else’s downtown. | That familiar woe-is-we lament flooded sports talk radio Wednesday: In Washington, the football is always yanked away at the last instant; the parade is always in somebody else’s downtown. |
| Eric Bickel hears it every time. A host of “The Sports Junkies” show on 106.7 FM the Fan, Bickel has long traced the manic biorhythm of Washington fans as a team flirts with winning it all, only to squander it early in the playoffs. He was ready for Wednesday’s collective wail. | Eric Bickel hears it every time. A host of “The Sports Junkies” show on 106.7 FM the Fan, Bickel has long traced the manic biorhythm of Washington fans as a team flirts with winning it all, only to squander it early in the playoffs. He was ready for Wednesday’s collective wail. |
| “Fans do feel like we’re cursed, there’s no question about it,” Bickel said, after conducting hours of sports psychotherapy with an angry, despondent, told-you-so fan base. “I try to resist, but there is a huge number of people who feel like no matter how great the regular season is, we’re going to blow it in the playoffs.” | “Fans do feel like we’re cursed, there’s no question about it,” Bickel said, after conducting hours of sports psychotherapy with an angry, despondent, told-you-so fan base. “I try to resist, but there is a huge number of people who feel like no matter how great the regular season is, we’re going to blow it in the playoffs.” |
| He tries to resist because he thinks it’s a bum rap. Bickel points to other cities, such as Cleveland, that wear a more deserved loser’s mantle. | He tries to resist because he thinks it’s a bum rap. Bickel points to other cities, such as Cleveland, that wear a more deserved loser’s mantle. |
| “They tend to be towns that don’t win much, but we’ve done it,” Bickel said. “We’ve won Super Bowls. I think it matters that Maryland won the [NCAA basketball] national championship in 2002.” | “They tend to be towns that don’t win much, but we’ve done it,” Bickel said. “We’ve won Super Bowls. I think it matters that Maryland won the [NCAA basketball] national championship in 2002.” |
| D.C. United fans hate the whining. They are quick to point out that their team has brought the Major League Soccer championship to Washington four times, most recently in 2004. But followers of the big four professional sports are not going to let their sulk be spoiled by the gleam of the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy. | D.C. United fans hate the whining. They are quick to point out that their team has brought the Major League Soccer championship to Washington four times, most recently in 2004. But followers of the big four professional sports are not going to let their sulk be spoiled by the gleam of the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy. |
| “I hate to say it, but not only does nobody care [about professional soccer], but they haven’t won anything since the Bush administration,” said Anderson. “And you can throw the [Washington] Mystics in there, too.” | |
| Washingtonians can look to their neighbor — and rival — to the north for some out-of-town perspective. Baltimore sports observers said while Charm City teams have had more success lately — the Orioles just sailed into the pennant series and the 2000 and 2012 Ravens won the Super Bowl — they’ve endured plenty of losing seasons, along with hated team owners, untimely injuries and players behaving badly. | Washingtonians can look to their neighbor — and rival — to the north for some out-of-town perspective. Baltimore sports observers said while Charm City teams have had more success lately — the Orioles just sailed into the pennant series and the 2000 and 2012 Ravens won the Super Bowl — they’ve endured plenty of losing seasons, along with hated team owners, untimely injuries and players behaving badly. |
| “Losing in terrifying fashion the way the Nationals have is another kind of soul-crushing experience,” said Charlie Hoppes, a Frederick native and commentator on the Baltimore Sports Report Network. “But caring is the point. Your heart will get broken a million times, but when it happens, when they finally win, all of it would’ve been worth it.” | “Losing in terrifying fashion the way the Nationals have is another kind of soul-crushing experience,” said Charlie Hoppes, a Frederick native and commentator on the Baltimore Sports Report Network. “But caring is the point. Your heart will get broken a million times, but when it happens, when they finally win, all of it would’ve been worth it.” |
| There is always another chance to root again. Baseball may be over for the year in Washington, and the Redskins may be off to a lousy 1-4 start, with their star quarterback already sidelined. But hockey is just getting started, and analysts have picked the Caps to make the playoff again, maybe to go all the way. | There is always another chance to root again. Baseball may be over for the year in Washington, and the Redskins may be off to a lousy 1-4 start, with their star quarterback already sidelined. But hockey is just getting started, and analysts have picked the Caps to make the playoff again, maybe to go all the way. |
| To which D.C. sports fans raised a favorite cheer: Yeah, right. |