For five years I lived in the DC Metro area.  These were some of the greatest years of my life, the only thing missing was baseball.  There wasn't a blog world in 1999, so it was very difficult to follow the Mets.  I lived in a sick house in McLean, VA with three of my best friends from high school and all of them were Yankee fans.  During the summer of 2000 we bought DirectTV and the baseball package and it was the first time in many years that I was able to watch the Mets play with any sort of consistency. 

So, my years in Washington, DC are filled with great memories but I had no local baseball team.  I can't count the O's because the trip up to Baltimore was a disaster.  I went to a few Yankee games at Camden Yards, as well as one Mets game during interleague play.

Anyway, you must be asking what the hell am I getting at.  Well, my very good friend Kevin (big shot on the Hill) still lives in DC and has been a season ticket holder with the Nationals since day 1.  He has remained loyal to his local team even though he is a lifelong Yankees fan.  I have to admit, I would have been wrapped up with the Nationals and bought season tickets if I was still living in the area.  I asked Kevin to write me a little blog entry about the opening night at the new stadium.  Also, you may want to visit this website to look at the amazing transformation of the Anacostia riverfront. 

Here is what Kevin had to say:

"The Nationals' new stadium is sick.  Great sight lines, very modern and "airy", really fits in with the DC vibe and architecture.  I've had seasons to the Nats since they moved to Washington from Montreal so I was excited to see my new seats at the new stadium.  I was lucky to get Club Level and the Club is great.  It was not as fancy and up-scale as I expected, but it was still a nice set-up.  the stadium is similar to that of Pittsburgh's, on the river, good views, modern, open feeling.

And what could I say about the game itself.....for the Nats to win in the bottom of the ninth with two outs with Zimmerman hitting the homer, what can I say.  Not as great as your boy Wright hitting one, but it was a cool feeling for Washington.  I can tell you, the electricity this morning in downtown DC is crazy, people are very excited about this team, stadium and season."

The Nationals were the only thing missing when I was living in DC.  I moved to NYC the year before the Expos moved there.  Thanks Kevin for the blog entry and I will definitely be hitting you up for a game this summer.  Looks like those Nationals are hot now, I can imagine the buzz in DC is pretty good right now.  However, please hold off on visions of winning the East, it is a long, long season and Odalis Perez is your #1, enough said.