Very few fan bases get to witness a legend being made right before their eyes. Even fewer get to see that happen to someone who has already established themselves as one of the greatest players to ever play their sport, but that is what Capitals fans have witnessed over the last two playoff series. Alex Ovechkin continued his march out of his stat compiler purgatory on Wednesday Night by winning a Game 7 on the road to win the Eastern Conference Championship. That win caused a frenzied scene in DC that was a personification of the frustration that DC Sports Fans have felt over the last 25 years without cheering for a team in a championship capacity. DC fans, though, should not see Ovechkin's feats this year in the playoffs as merely a necessary means to break an arbitrary curse. They should appreciate it for what it is; one of the greatest players of his generation finally getting the chance to fulfill his destiny in a Washington Capitals uniform. Few fan bases get to see something like this because it is not the normal way that sports legends are made.
When a player gets drafted to be the savior of a franchise it usually does not take them as long, or go through as arduous of a career, as Alex Ovechkin has to make good on that promise. Usually the savior comes in and within 5-8 years they lead their team into a position to win a championship. Look at Jordan, Lebron, Gretzky, Bonds, Kobe, Crosby (sorry Caps fans, but its true), or Peyton Manning. These greats had early growing pains, but within a short time frame they were able to lead their teams to the championship rounds, and most of them were able to win it all. Even stat mongers like Dan Marino and Karl Malone were able to get to the gates of promised land early on, even if they were never able to finish the job. Capitals fans, though, are watching a unique career arc that has made this Stanley Cup berth all the more special. For twelve years Alex Ovechkin has garnered numerous individual accolades without even having a chance to compete for a Conference Championship. He has had to persevere through numerous coaching changes, accusations of lax work ethic, yearnings from the fan base to trade him from Washington, and countless epithets about how his time to win a championship had passed. He now finds himself with a new centerpiece for his dining room table and chance to give Caps fans a storied career that no other fan base has witnessed.
This blog has written about Alex Ovechkin's championship futility time and again, and what it means for his place in the annals of DC Sports History. If Ovechkin is able to win the Stanley Cup this year it will solidify him as the greatest athlete the DC area has ever seen. Ovechkin has become one of the greatest goal scorers of all time, and he has taken a niche franchise and made it the toast of the town. Even the Redskins are taking a back seat for the next two weeks as the Capitals try to bring the first professional championship to Washington DC in a quarter century. Ovechkin has ignited the entire city, and he has drawn even the most novice of DC Sports fan into the Capitals' orbit through his perseverance through adversity. No other major sports figure played 12 years in the same city and fought through countless write offs to finally deliver their fan base from misery. Now he has the chance to achieve a level of greatness that no other sports figure has attained within the DC area, and he could give DC Fans a storied career that is unique to the DC Fan experience. As the Caps take the ice in Las Vegas on Monday Night, Caps fans should keep in mind that Ovechkin has already made them privy to a unique making of a hockey legend and bringing a Stanley Cup to Washington will make them witness to the crowning of the new king of DC Sports.
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