The Caps Winning The Stanley Cup Has Killed DC Fandom

What are DC Sports Fans supposed to do now?  The Capitals historic win on Thursday Night eradicated all of what being a fan of DC Sports is all about.  Pain.  Misery.  Self Loathing.  Getting high off of crazy preseason optimism knowing that it will all come crashing down in some horrible self fulfilling prophecy in the playoffs.  Doing simple arithmetic to show others how you have never seen, or were too young to remember, a professional championship in DC.  All of that is gone now.  What is left is something that will define the type of fan base this city truly has and whether it is ready to support sports teams through genuine fandom, or if their support only goes as far as frenzied feelings of FOMO.

DC Fans seemed to take the frivolous statement from Michael Wilbon, that Washington DC was a "minor league sports town", a little too much to heart, and they were a little too quick to point to the outpouring of fans at the Caps viewing party Thursday night as evidence to the contrary.  While it was amazing to see how many people came out to support the Caps, many of those people were there to be a part of the scene rather than show their enduring support for a team they have cheered for for years.  Stories were abound about how these Stanley Cup Playoff Games were the first hockey games that a lot of these people watched, and they went down to Capital One Arena on Thursday simply because they did not want to miss out on the festivities.  But winning a championship does not instantaneously turn these people into regular fans.  Just ask the Carolina Hurricanes how many interlopers from their 2006 Stanley Cup Championship are still there.  Or look at the Miami Marlins, who would kill for a quarter of the people who jumped on their bandwagon in 1997 and 2003 to still be there today.  DC Sports fans now find themselves in a similar situation.  The Capitals have drawn in multitudes of fans to their cause, but mostly due to fear of missing out on a social scene.  It will take more than that to prove Michael Wilbon wrong, and now it is time to see if DC Fandom truly has what it takes to foster a genuine "sports town" atmosphere.

The Capitals have removed the security blanket from DC Fans by winning the Stanley Cup.  For so long the narrative has been that it is hard to develop a genuine sports culture in DC because of so much ineptitude, impotence, and playoff tragedies galore from all the DC professional sports teams.  Most of that has been washed away by the Capitals victory on Thursday night.  Fans were witness to a team that was intelligently put together and mentored throughout the season.  They saw the likes of Max Scherzer, Ryan Zimmerman, and Derrius Guice show their support for the Caps on their run to the Cup.  The teams are doing all they can to create a unified sense among all the different teams and superstars, and now they have at least one championship to show for this shared unity.  It is now on the fans of Washington DC to show that they will show long term support for a team like the Capitals because they love the sport, and not because they love the number of Instagram likes they get when they post stuff with #ALLCAPS.  DC Fans now must show that they can evolve from a fan base of self loathing to one that can legitimately support their teams by watching games and becoming informed fans, and not just jump on every time a championship rolls around.  The Capitals have put the onus on DC Fans to prove that this city can be more than an event driven town that fluctuates based on the level of attention each sport will bring to the individual.  DC fans need to show that this city can be one with an informed fan base that will continue to grow in mass no matter what time of year it is.  If this does not happen, then maybe DC is just a minor league sports town, but we know now that it is not because of the nature of the teams.  It is the nature of the fans.  

Ovechkin's Legend Continues To Grow

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. 

With Every Caps Win, The Redskins Lose

The Capitals Game 1 win over the Lightning is undeniable proof to all DC Sports fans that this team has what it takes to possibly bring the greatest trophy in all of professional sports to the Nation's Capital.  It is also proof that Caps are winning over a new generation of DC Sports fans at the expense of the Washington Redskins.  The Redskins are king when it comes to drawing the attention of DC Sports fandom, but for the first time their hegemony over the DC Sports landscape is under serious threat from a single entity.  The Washington Capitals have stolen the show this spring as they ended Washington's Conference Finals drought, and with every successive victory the Caps win over another portion of the fan base that has become disillusioned with the product coming out of Ashburn, Virginia.  The Capitals are winning over fans in all facets of the fan experience while the Redskins continue to rest on their laurels, and it begins with the team the Capitals have put together this season.

Everyone loves a winner, and the Capitals have certainly proven they can win, but people love a winner even more when they do it with resilience.  The Capitals have been one of the best teams in the NHL over the last decade when it comes to winning in the regular season, but those teams were more high flying flashy type teams that wilted under pressure.  The Caps this season have been more gritty.  No one expected them to do much, and yet they find themselves three wins away from playing for the Stanley Cup because they have proactively persevered through adversity.  They won the toughest division in the NHL this season.  They came back from down 2-0 in the First Round to beat the Blue Jackets.  They finally vanquished their nemesis without three of their top players playing for a majority of the series, and winning Game 6 on the road.  They won Game 1 against Tampa in a convincing fashion which no one thought possible.  The Capitals are winning with heart, but when was the last time that was said about any Redskins team?  RG3's rookie year?  Cousins' first year as a starter?  It is hard to remember a Redskins team that was called gritty or resilient, and no Redskins team has done that and reached the level the Caps have this season.  The Capitals are winning over fans by the level at which they play and the level they have reached in the playoffs, but signs of the Capitals take over of the Redskins' territory can also be seen in the fan experience over the past decade.

Forbes Magazine does an annual valuation of all professional sports teams, and a look at the Redskins and Capitals current value show signs that the Capitals are making headway into taking over a larger part of the DC Fan Base.  The Redskins are obviously worth more than the Caps in absolute value, but the Capitals have outstripped the Redskins in growth rate within the DC market.  Half of the Redskins value (54.5%) comes from the NFL revenue share, while only 19.9% can be attributed to market size and 7.3% can be attributed to their brand.  The last two percentages may be good indicators of how well a team markets themselves within their own city, and if that is the case the Capitals once again outstrip the Redskins.  The Capitals market size value is 41.3%, which makes sense considering they do not have a rival in Baltimore to contend with, but the Caps' brand value is also higher at 12.8%.  Wouldn't it make sense for the Redskins to have a higher brand value when they need to compete with a team that is a 90 minute drive away?  These values show that the Capitals are doing more to endear themselves to the fan base through promotion and savvy marketing techniques, and that they are making more of an effort to reach out to fans to try and draw them in.  DC fans have responded by spending more money at Capital One Arena than Fed Ex Field. 

Forbes Magazine also gives the numbers for net stadium revenue for each team, and the lack of growth in the net stadium revenue of the Redskins since 2010 is staggering.  The Redskins have only seen a 36% increase in revenue since 2010, which is the worst in the NFL since that time and it is not even close.  The Colts are the next closest to that number with a 45.1% increase, and the only other teams to have below 50% revenue increases are the Buccaneers and Raiders.  So the Redskins have shown poor growth relative to other teams in their sport, and it has nothing to do with the large amount of money they already made.  The only NFL teams in 2010 to have $300 Million or more in revenue were the Redskins, the Patriots, and the Cowboys.  The Patriots have seen an 80.8% increase in revenue for obvious reasons, and the Cowboys have seen a 100% increase in revenue.  The Cowboys increase has less to do with winning, and more to do with a new stadium being opened, but that goes to the notion that the Redskins stadium experience sucks.  Redskins fans are unwilling to spend money on the team and it shows in the Redskins' lack of revenue growth.  Compare those numbers to the Capitals who have seen a 78% increase in revenue since 2010 and it is not hard to see that the Capitals are providing a better fan experience at their stadium that fans have responded to in a more positive light through spending more money at Capital One Arena.  In fact, the Capitals 78% growth is fourth best in the NHL behind the Penguins, the Kings, and the Predators.  The Penguins and Kings have both won Stanley Cups in that time frame, but the Predators growth should be an omen to the Redskins of what could happen if the Capitals can just make the Stanley Cup Final.

Last year the Predators made the Stanley Cup Finals and put Nashville into a state of euphoria with their catfish and stadium experience.  They did not win the Cup, but that run created an organic frenzied scene around the Predators that carried over into this season.  Nashville was hungry for a winner and the Predators delivered, and the Capitals find themselves in a similar situation.  A generation of DC Sports fans have come and gone without seeing a winner, and they are finally getting one with the 2017 Capitals.  While the Capitals have slowly changed the gravitational fields within the DC Sports landscape through relentless marketing and a positive stadium experience, a Stanley Cup appearance would permanently draw the interest of everyone living in the DC Area.  The Redskins would no longer be the automatic choice for kids who grow up in this area because the Capitals win, and win with a style and stadium experience the Redskins cannot duplicate.  The Redskins have already been losing fans to the Capitals over this decade, and with every successive Capitals victory this year they draw more fans to a product that has a more likable team, a better fan and stadium experience, and a winning tradition.  Seven more victories, and the Redskins will need to share the spotlight with the new kings of DC Sports.

In the Pens Series the Magic Number for the Caps is One

The collective thought process going through the Capitals fan base after Monday Night's series clinching win over the Blue Jackets was a sarcastic "Here we go again".  For the third straight year, the Capitals will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Caps fans let the hockey world know how they feel about this match up the only way they know how to deal with their emotions.  Cynical passive aggressiveness.  Caps fans are inundating the DC Sports landscape with sayings like "Get ready for another Game 7 loss", "I guess the Pens win the cup again this year", and "We better win in 5 games, otherwise we are not winning the series".  Caps fans already resigned themselves to being disappointed once they saw that a black and gold 87 would be on the opposing side in the second round, but the fan base's cynicism is not without warrant.  The numbers for the Caps vs. Pens playoff history have been bandied about over the past 48 hours, and none really favor the Capitals (quick note: most of these numbers came from Pensburgh Blog.  Please check it out for a good history of this playoff match up).  The Capitals are 1-9 against the Pens all time in playoff series, yet they are 8-2 in Game 1 of those series and they blew a 2-0 series lead in 2009.  The Pens are 4-0 against the Caps in Game 7's, and they are 11-2 against the Caps in playoff overtime games.  Finally, in all five (yes, get depressed Caps fans, FIVE) of Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup Championship runs they have defeated the Capitals en route to the promised land.  All of these numbers equate to good reasons for Caps fans to be cynical about this upcoming match up, but there is only one number that should be coursing through the Capitals' mind right now.  One.

The number one should be on the Capitals' minds because for the first time in the playoffs it feels as if the Caps have that one thing, that one guy, that all Stanley Cup Contenders seem to have once the playoffs roll around.  They have that one hot goaltender who finds his stride come the playoffs.  They have that one guy who comes out of nowhere to make significant contributions no one saw coming (Chandler Stephenson).  They have that one guy everyone forgot was really good, and now is showing everyone why he is really good through playoff production (John Carlson).  They have that one line that seems to have "it" whenever they are on the ice, and one that can give production outside of the superstars on the team (Connolly-Eller-DSP).  They have that one guy who is not going to take shit from anybody and prove it by knocking heads and putting points on the board (Tom Wilson).  They have that one superstar who can come through in the clutch (Nick Backstrom).  They have the one superstar who has proven why he is the greatest in the most important game of the playoffs to date.  Finally, the Caps have that one thing that has been lacking in all other playoff runs this past decade.  Grit.  These Capitals have a sense about them this year that they will never give up.  It has been honed throughout the season and it was on full display in the series against Columbus.  The 2-0 comeback, the double overtime goal in Game 3, the relentless penalty kill the last 4 games, Backstrom's OT redirect goal in Game 5, Stephenson's short handed goal in Game 6.  All of this shows how this Capitals team will not be fazed by adversity as easily has they have been in the past, and that is a good thing because the one thing that is most important in this upcoming series with the Pens is more tangible than grit.  Winning.

All it will take is one victory.  One time for Alex Ovechkin to get the better of his nemesis to make the fan base believe in themselves again.  It does not matter how many times the Penguins have ousted the Capitals in the past, all the Caps need to do is win this one series against their most hated rival to give the fan base back some dignity.  One time where Caps fans get to celebrate in their own building, their own city, and not have to watch this travesty again.  There have been too many times over the past decade where Caps fans' hopes have been dashed in gut wrenching fashion in the playoffs, but all of those don't matter now.  All that matter is that the Caps win this one series, one game at at time, to give Caps fans something to come back at Pens fans with when the discussion of playoff success comes up.  The Caps need to win this one series so that Ovechkin can say he got the better of Sidney Crosby at least once when it really mattered.  Finally, the Caps need to win this one series in order to break the playoff futility of all DC Sports in order to give the fan base the one thing they want.  The chance to see their team play for a championship.

Alex Ovechkin Will Make History By Not Winning

Alex Ovechkin has cemented a legacy in this area that can only be eclipsed by a certain few, and those people barely touched a hockey rink in their entire lives.  He is the greatest professional athlete the DC area has witnessed in the last 20 years, and his dominance within his sport has not been seen in this area since Walter Johnson pitched for the Washington Senators.  Proof of this omnipotence will be on display over the next week when Ovechkin scores the 600th goal of his career, and it could be on display over the next two months if Ovechkin is able to reach the 50 goal mark for the season and win his seventh Rocket Richard Trophy.  All of these accomplishments, though, will be eclipsed by Ovechkin's inability to win the one thing that could vault him into the position of "Greatest DC Sports Figure"; winning the Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin will set numerous milestones when he scores his 600th goal, hopefully in the next few games, and hopefully in front of the Capital One Arena crowd.  Ovechkin will become the 20th player in NHL history to score 600 goals.  Even more impressive is that he will be only the sixth player to score 600 goals with one franchise.  The others are Bobby Hull with Chicago (604), Joe Sackic with Quebec/Colorado (625), Mario Lemieux with Pittsburgh (690), Steve Yzerman with Detroit (692), and the great Gordie Howe with Detroit (786).  That is elite company, but given the lack of credentials Ovechkin carries he must be lumped in with a not so illustrious section of this fraternity.  When Ovechkin scores his 600th goal he will be one of five players to have scored 600 goals and not won a Stanley Cup in their career.  The others are Dino Ciccarelli, Jerome Iginla, Mike Gartner, and Macel Dionne.  Even more depressing is the fact that Ovechkin will be  one of only three players to have scored 600 goals and never reached the Stanley Cup Finals.  Gartner and Dionne never made it to a Stanley Cup Final in their career, although an asterisk needs to be put next to Gartner as he was traded away from the 1994 Rangers that eventually won the Stanley Cup. So Ovechkin will set precedents for both career glory and futility when he tingles the twine for the 600th time in his NHL career, and this paradox only thickens when looking at more seasonal accomplishments.

Two years ago, Alex Ovechkin became only the 11th player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season at age 30 or older.  The last player to do that before Ovechkin was Jaromir Jagr in 2005-2006. Ovechkin has been bucking the trend in an era that is supposed to be unfavorable to goal scorers, and if he can reach the 50 goal plateau again this season he will once again find himself in unique company.  Only Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby Hull had multiple 50 goal seasons at age 30 or older, and Ovechkin stands to join their ranks this season.  But if he accomplishes this task, Ovechkin will join Marcel Dionne as the only Non-Stanley Cup winners of this group.  Even if Ovechkin cannot reach 50 goals this season, he is currently leading the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy with 40 goals.  If Ovechkin stays a top the goal scoring leader board it will be his seventh Richard Trophy of his career.  The Rocket Richard Trophy has only been given out since 1998, but it does not look good when its' most decorated recipient is one of only two players who have received this trophy and never even played in a Stanley Cup Final.  The other is Jonathan Cheechoo.  Once again Ovechkin's goal scoring will make history for both good and bad reasons, but for all the career futility that has been outlined here there is one caveat the Ovechkin has in his favor.  He is still playing.

Ovechkin leads a Capitals team that was not supposed to be where they are this season.  Last year was supposed to be the Caps' best chance to win the Stanley Cup, but they fell short again and a large chunk of their talented core left Washington.  Taking their place was a group of unknowns that has only put the Caps in a position to win their division against staggering statistical odds.  The Caps have the 6th worst 5v5 Corsi Against total this season, which means they give up a ton of shots on net at even strength.  They are 8th worst in 5v5 Corsi +/- (-248) and Corsi% (47.99) meaning that they are allowing a lot more shots on their net as they are putting on their opponents net at even strength.  And if you're looking for salvation in the power play, it may dishearten you to know that the Capitals have the 5th worst penalty differential in the league at -32, meaning that they have taken 32 more penalties than they have drawn this season.  And yet they are only one point out of the Metro Division lead, and three points out of being the third best team in the Eastern Conference.  This Capitals team may be forging and identity that it has not had in a long time, and Alex Ovechkin will be at the forefront of it.

This could be Ovechkin's chance to not just make history through his goal scoring, but to also make history through playoff success.  He has captained high flying teams in the past that have underachieved, but now he is at the helm of a team that is building its identity organically for the first time in almost a decade.  This team has built its own expectations rather than having lofty ones bestowed upon them from day one, and that may be the formula that gets the Capitals going to the next level.  The team has faced massive adversity at numerous times this season, and yet they are still firmly entrenched within the playoff hunt despite inconsistent play and shaky goal tending.  Building success from within seems to have been lacking in the Capitals ever since they shocked the world in making the playoffs in 2008, and it may be the formula that takes Alex Ovechkin to the team success that has eluded him his entire career.  Ovechkin currently leads an opportunistic team with an elite goal tender with something to prove that has had a chip on its shoulder about its playoff futility for a decade.  If Ovechkin cannot embody that sense of grit and lead this team to a championship, then he may be the first NHL player to make history for what he did not win for his city and fan base.

Ovi's 50 Needs to Make History for All

Alex Ovechkin put himself in exclusive company against the Blues on Saturday night.  His hat trick all but assured his fourth consecutive, and sixth overall, Rocket Richard Trophy.  Granted, this trophy only came into existence in 1998, but since that time no other player has won it more than twice.  Ovechkin is now the third player in NHL history to score 50 goals seven or more times (Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky did it 9 times).  He is the first player in NHL history to score 50 or more goals in three consecutive seasons twice (2007-2010 and 2013-2016), but this seems less of an achievement when you realize that Gretzky had eight consecutive 50 plus seasons and Bossy's nine 50 goal seasons were consecutive as well.  What people need to be focusing on is the age at which Ovechkin is accomplishing these feats, for both good and bad reasons, and what history we want Ovechkin to be making as Capitals fans.

Although Gretzky and Bossy never had a lull in their 50 goal scoring seasons, Ovechkin has now outpaced them in terms of longevity.  Both Bossy and Gretzky saw their last 50 goal season come before age 30 (Gretzky at 28 and Bossy at 29).  Ovechkin has become only the 9th player in NHL history to score 50 goals at age 30 or older and the first to do so since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-2006.  If you believe the notion that goal scoring is harder to come by these days, Ovechkin's 50 goals this season looks even more impressive since two of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history could not get 50 after 30 in an inferior defensive era.  But the "different era" argument is for those who wish to argue ad nauseam about the greatest of all time without really wanting to come to a consensus.  Ovechkin's goal scoring longevity will never surpass what made Bossy and Gretzky great, and Ovechkin is running out of time to achieve this in order to make him live eternally in the annals of NHL lore.

It may not have occurred to Capitals fans, but Ovechkin has yet to even play for a Stanley Cup.  That puts him on the short list with Jonathan Cheechoo, that is his real name, as being the only Rocket Richard winners to never have played in a Stanley Cup Final.  That takes a little bit of luster off of his 50 goal seasons when you realize that all other great goal scorers of this era were at least able to get their teams in position to win a championship, and most of them were able to scale the mountain top.  It is also sobering to know that only three players 30 or older have been able to score 50 goals and win a Stanley Cup in the same season.  They are Joe Sakic with the Avalanche in 2001, Joe Mullen with the Flames in 1989, and Phil Esposito with the Bruins in 1972.  All of this means that Ovechkin's time is running out, and remember that Father Time is undefeated.  While Ovechkin's 50 goals are an individual milestone it is the team's success that will put him into the stratosphere of NHL greats, and Ovechkin is playing with the best overall team of his career.  If Ovehckin cannot win it this year the future looks hazy, at best, as to what type of supporting cast he will have in his continued push for collective greatness. It is more than likely that we may see the departure of Jason Chimera and Dmitri Orlov this offseason, and what will Brian MacLellan do when  T.J. Oshie, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, and Nate Schmidt are all looking for more money after the 2017 season?  If Ovechkin is to attain true greatness he will need to do what he did on Saturday night and lead the only NHL team he has ever known to their first Stanley Cup Championship.  If he does not, maybe he will donate all of his Rocket Richard Trophies to the Verizon Center so we can put them on display.

Please check out Jewels from the Crown where all of the goal scoring info was found.