John Wall Needed to Win More Than Anyone

Monday's Game 7 loss was another hard pill to swallow for the DC area.  Another ray of hope to end the nearly two decade drought of not making a Conference Final was dashed by another improbable performance by a fringe player.  Kelly Olynyk's 26 point performance will go right up there with Jaroslav Halak in the dark annals of DC Sports playoff misery.  One positive to come out of this playoff series, though, was the rise of John Wall as a DC icon.  Wall's game winning shot in Game 6, and his plea to the crowd on the scorer's table at the end of the game, had some anointing him as the premier sportsman in the DC area.  Wall's emotional outburst on the scorer's table was the personification of his passion for the city of Washington DC, and it was the type of moment that endears a player to the fan base.  The problem for Wall was that he did not deliver in Game 7.  A DC superstar player losing in a Game 7 is nothing new, but Wall and the Wizards squandered an opportunity to become the toast of the town.  They could have been the ones to break the streak, and for Wall that missed opportunity goes beyond just not making the Eastern Conference Finals.  Wall needed to win that game to be the unquestioned top dog in the DC sports market, but instead there will still be doubts in this area created by the accomplishments of other players, fans of other DC sports, and the way the NBA markets it's product.

There is nothing inherently special about John Wall's presence here in the DC area. The Wizards winning the Draft Lottery in 2010 to have the opportunity to pick Wall was surprising, but Wall is one of four number one overall picks in this market who have made an impact in their respective sports.  Alex Ovechkin has become the greatest goal scorer of his generation and led the Capitals to unprecedented popularity.  Bryce Harper is one of the premier hitters in baseball, and he and Stephen Strasburg have led the Nationals to become one of the best teams in baseball.  So John Wall being a number one overall pick who has delivered on his prospective talents is nothing new for this area.  John Wall needed to be the one to end the Conference Finals streak in order to separate himself from this pack, and also to win over DC fans who maybe brainwashed by NBA marketing.

The NBA is a sport that glorifies the elite.  Think about it in the terms of other sports.  How many Redskins fans wearing Kirk Cousins jerseys would say, "You know I'm a Redskins fan, but when Tom Brady (or other superstar QB) comes to town I gotta root for him"?  Not many because the NFL markets the team and each local fan base buys into that notion.  There is no Capitals fan who would root for Connor McDavid when the Oilers come to DC because 98% of the fan base (myself included) does not have the capacity to appreciate the finer points of hockey, Caps fans have had time to generate an intense loyalty to Ovechkin, and 10% of the fan base doesn't even know what city the Oilers play in.  The Nats/Orioles hedging still goes on, but few Nats fans nowadays have both a Bryce Harper jersey and a Mark Trumbo jersey. The NBA is different.  The NBA markets the elite players to everyone around the country, and in a transient area like DC it is hard for someone like John Wall to overcome that.  How many John Wall fans wear Jordans?  How many kids wear Golden State gear when that team is 3000 miles away?  How many casual Wizards fans will root for LeBron when he comes to Verizon Center?  The fact that you have to seriously ponder these questions means that John Wall faces the hardest road of any DC sports figure in winning over the fans.  The NBA markets it's top players to everyone around the country, and the Wizards have been so bad for so long that there is a significant portion of the area that gloms onto Curry and LeBron because they are winners.  Wall could have erased that in Game 7, but alas the DC fan base is left hoping yet again.

Emotionally, John Wall has won over this city but that sentiment is fleeting.  Winning is what this city wants, and Wall could have stripped the title of top DC sports figure with one win on Monday Night.  In an event driven town such as DC, think about the run Wall would have gotten going head-to-head with LeBron and God forbid possibly winning a few games.  Had that happened there would be no question about which individual sports figure is the biggest in DC.  Now, questions still remain and the doubt is still there.  Wall is tied at the top with people like Cousins, Harper, and Ovechkin, but he has the hardest road ahead of him and the longest time to wait to get another shot at winning.