Oh, to be a DC Sports Fan!

It's interesting living in DC as someone who has lived most of their life somewhere else for many different reasons, the number one reason surfacing recently has been sports. The sports mentality in DC is very different from where I come from, New England, for many different reasons I think, but mostly because Washington has had an unfortunate streak of sub-par sports teams, the hockey team (the Capitals) being the one exception. I think that die-hard Washington sports fans (i.e. Redskins fans) have come to terms with defeat more easily than sports fans in other places. For example, a friend of mine, a big Patriots fan like myself, was talking to her boss about the upcoming Patriots-Ravens AFC Championship game, with her boss trying to persuade her that it would be ok if the Patriots lost because it would still be exciting for her since a local team would be in the Superbowl. Of course, this did not placate my friend and the Patriots won anyway. A win here is a big deal no matter how big the game. In New England, we have very high expectations as our teams have been successful in the past decade or so, which has been the point in my life when I have really been paying attention to them. Making the playoffs in any sport in Washington is a big deal; making the playoffs in any sport in New England is a minimum expectation. How I wish I could be satisfied with the Patriots even being in the Superbowl, the way that Washingtonians would be with their hometeam!