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Mrs. Hank, baby Theo and myself drove out to Washington D.C. over the weekend to visit family and check out two of the Jays vs. Nationals games at RFK.



Click on the images to see a larger version. You can click on the larger versions of the panoramas to see supersized versions.

I had heard a lot of bad stuff about RFK as a stadium, so I was pleasantly surprised by almost everything, especially the crowd:

On Saturday there were nearly 40,000 people there, and they were loud, loved their baseball and loved their team. It was like being at Fenway without the overhanging sense of impending doom that Boston fans have cultivated. Not only did they loudly applaud good plays on both side (obviously louder for the Nationals), but they applauded the ends of innings, and stood up for anything vaguely exciting. RFK uses most of the same canned sound effects and GET LOUD notices on the scoreboards that were so common at the Rogers Centre previous to this year, but the difference at RFK is that they work. I would kill to have a crowd this excited to be watching baseball here in Toronto.

The field itself was nice, and both days our tickets had very good views. There was more foul territory than Fenway but less than Rogers Centre, so field level seats are pretty close. Some Nationals fans told us that the outfield bleachers weren't all that bad, either.

But not everything about RFK was great:

This is the ticket office. While the field is well-sized, the walkways and tunnels inside the stadium are decidedly cramped, so almost anything that isn't a food stand is located outside in a temporary structure.

Tomorrow in part two I'll show you the Team Store, which I found hysterically funny, and talk a bit about the concessions and the bizarre mascot at RFK.

A Visit to RFK, part one | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike D - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 12:10 PM EDT (#120890) #
I went to a Nationals game earlier this month. "Bizarre" doesn't begin to describe their mascot.

Nice shots, NFH!
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 12:18 PM EDT (#120892) #
Thanks, Mike. The first time I saw the mascot on the "big" screen I thought it was a fuzzy baby chicken wearing a Nationals hat. I turned to Mrs. Hank and said "Is that a baby chicken?" and she said "Holy crap, their mascot is a baby chicken!"

Some Washington fans told us what it really was.
VBF - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#120893) #
I've always liked big, oversized, cookie cutter ballparks, and I do prefer RFK over some of the retro parks around MLB. Call me weird.

IMO, the retro era is coming to an end. Watch, about 15 years after the new Washington Ballpark is made people will be complaining about it, just as Torontonians comlpain about the Rogers Centre, the cleanest, somewhat modern ballpark in the world.

So, NFH, I've always wondered how the RC atmosphere (this year, since it does seem louder) compares with the atmosphere around other MLB ballparks. How much louder would 40,000 Nats fans be compared to 40,000 Jays fans?

Also, I posted this in the IR thread for the Sunday game, that you guys were indeed on tv (on the WASN telecast) while the camera scanned the crowd.
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:04 PM EDT (#120897) #
Woo! Anybody have tape of it? Did we look foolish?

RFK was at least twice as loud as the Rogers Centre. I'd guess it's closer to three times louder.
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:10 PM EDT (#120898) #
I also heard a very loud 'yahooooo' when the place fell silent after the second Hudson homer. Can anyone confirm this NFH sighting/hearing?

Yeah, that was me.

VBF - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:14 PM EDT (#120899) #
Actually it went by pretty fast. All I saw was about 5 or so people with Jays stuff on and someone who appeared to be like you. I figured how many people with Jays jerseys with beard and long hair could be there?

Were there any other noticeable Jays fans there?
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:22 PM EDT (#120900) #
We saw a guy on the subway in an Alex Rios jersey and another guy in the same jersey that I was wearing -- an early '00s road jersey with the blue sleeves. Other than that, everyone had either Washington or Baltimore hats except for the ever-present Yankee fans.

I think that everyone in Washington has a Nationals cap. I bought one, too -- it's nice. More on that tomorrow.
James W - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:29 PM EDT (#120903) #
Sounds like a lot of fun NFH. The only stadium outside of Toronto that I've seen a big league game at was the Big O, and it wasn't much.. I'd love to take a little tour of the northeast baseball stadiums.
Lugnut Fan - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:34 PM EDT (#120904) #
You forgot to get the rest of the Corvette sign in the picture NFH. It's classic. "Sorry, we can't accept souls as payment!".. haha
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#120907) #
James, we realized on the drive down that if we had added a couple of days it would have been really easy for us to hit Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Maybe next time.
Magpie - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 01:56 PM EDT (#120909) #
I had heard a lot of bad stuff about RFK as a stadium

Me too, and it always bothered me for the completely irrational reason that Robert Kennedy was one of my heroes way back in the day. So I'm especially glad that you had a good time there.

Anonymous - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 03:21 PM EDT (#120923) #
That middle pic is a beauty, NFH. I love it, well done.
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 03:39 PM EDT (#120926) #
Thanks! Luckily, it was a beautiful night. Also hot and humid as hell -- you could see steamy fog around the lights.
Thomas - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 03:43 PM EDT (#120927) #
Bah. I watched six innings of Sunday's game for the express purpose of seeing NFH and I missed him.

I also didn't hear his "Yahoo" as I myself was WooHooing wildly.
VBF - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 04:16 PM EDT (#120932) #
Also in terms of the GET LOUD sort of things, I like them as long as they take place everywhere. The thing about the RC is that they way of getting the crowd noisy is so obscure, nobody gets it. They show these weird knobs turning up from 1-10 and just show the words "clapping, screaming, yelling, super noise." It's really not effective. All they have to do is have big words that say "MAKE NOISE" or "STAND UP" and the crowd will listen. They've done it before.
King Ryan - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#120934) #
I know I'm in the minority here, but I hate it.

I hate listening to 40,000 adults squeal like 12 year olds at an Nsync concert just because the scoreboard said "MAKE NOISE." Really, it annoys the crap out of me.

I mean, when my favorite team hits a big homerun, I'll stand up and cheer with everyone, but noise for the sake of noise is irritating beyond all belief.
Named For Hank - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 04:57 PM EDT (#120935) #
I hate listening to 40,000 adults squeal like 12 year olds at an Nsync concert just because the scoreboard said "MAKE NOISE." Really, it annoys the crap out of me.

Perhaps I should be more clear -- with two outs, the scoreboard would read TWO STRIKES - MAKE NOISE, things like that. It wasn't random, it was always dictated by the game situation.

JayWay - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 05:04 PM EDT (#120936) #
I agree with you Ryan.

To be honest, attending professional sporting events in North America is becoming a very negative exeperience for me. I just hate being treated like a sheep. This is especially true at Hockey games where it's gotten to the point where the fans rely on scoreboards and giant screens to lead them. There used to be a time when fans took out of a game what they put in. In other words, they created the experience.

Now though, organizers feel it's necessarilly to bombard us with big-screen "entertainment" (games, dancing contests, anything to make us look like fools) and like you said, noise meters and such.

I remember at an Ottawa 67's game this past winter, they gave out thunder sticks to every fan. At one point, the fans began to bang the sticks to their own tune. A few fans began, then the rest picked up. It was really good. But of course, the sound system had to blare out some other tune that resulted in the fans following that one. Why? The fans were doing fine on their own, they didn't need to be lead along with a leash.

If the RC is dead, it's not because the fans are quiet, but its because the fans have been taught to rely on the organizers for entertainment. They've seriously been conditioned to act like sheep when they go to a sporting event.

The Cheer Club proves that the crowd is capable to generating their own noise and entertainment. All it takes is a few brave souls to take charge (and of course a cowbell helps) and the fans can do it themselves. We don't need silly contests or stupid "noise meters".

Sorry. Just had to get that off my chest. lol
Alex0888 - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 11:35 PM EDT (#120962) #
Well, this is the way I looked at the Nationals' mascot.
He's extremely fat and funny looking, and he's representing a team in America called the "Nationals"

You can draw your own conclusions about what they may be implying about themselves....
VBF - Tuesday, June 28 2005 @ 11:46 PM EDT (#120964) #
JayWay, I agree 100% with you too.

There is a fine balance as to what is Mickey Mouse and what is not.

For example, promotional things not related to the game are a distraction. A clear example of this is the J-Force. This follows the "let's take our eyes off the game and watch people dance" method. Completely ineffective and pointless.

Then there's things related to the game. This comes when there are boards that say "MAKE NOISE". They are used for game situations only, and if you're watching on television, creates an atmosphere which looks like its human generated on its own. I really don't have a problem with this, since even the most established teams like the Yankees, Cardinals use them. Although fan willingness to make noise is enough on its own.

If the RC is dead, it's not because the fans are quiet, but its because the fans have been taught to rely on the organizers for entertainment. They've seriously been conditioned to act like sheep when they go to a sporting event.

You hit the nail on the head. How many times have cheers started and been killed by the Adams family? The RC, IMO is nothing compared to Fenway or Yankee Stadium, however this year it's just as good as Kansas City, CWS, Detroit, etc, which is due to keeping the fans watching the game, instead of getting some of them to clap to a rhythmn.

In fact, a promotion (that I can't stand, IMO) which keeps fans eyes focused on the game, gets fans to make noise, and create something of an atmosphere is really the pizza pizza K-Kountdown. I personally hate it, but the idea does work. The only time it's dumb is when the Jays are down 11-2 to Tampa and Scott Downs strikes out somebody in the 7th inning, and the crowd is on its feet. Obviously, there's an ulterior motive, however they are cheering on the Jays nonetheless.

JayWay - Wednesday, June 29 2005 @ 05:03 AM EDT (#120992) #
VBF, I hate the Pizz Pizza promotion. I hate the fact that a tradition such as the 'K's' has been commodified. I wouldn't mind it so much if during non-Pizza Pizza days they had the standard K's out there. But the fact that they only do it on the Pizza Pizza days suggests that if the organization can't do something without selling something to the fans, that it's not worth doing at all. And that includes a tradition such as the 'K's'. My favourite promotion however is the Fed Ex giveaways. As embarrassing as it is to watch fans jump and scream like 10-year olds, it's worth it just to watch their faces as they open the box and realize they just made complete fools of themselves for a cheap-ass Fed Ex shirt and hat.
VBF - Wednesday, June 29 2005 @ 11:52 AM EDT (#121017) #
Yes, in that sense lol.

I don't like tha pizza promo either, but you're right, they should included the Ks regardless of the pizza or not.

The problem with the Fed Ex ones is that the promotion has absolutely nothing to do with the team. It wouldn't matter if there was a soccer, cricket, or Barney concert out there. At least the pizza countdown makes the fans pay attention and cheer for success, although I really don't like it.
A Visit to RFK, part one | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.