Washington sports fans are partying like it’s 1969.
Wizards fans are salivating over the possibility of drafting John Wall with the No. 1 overall pick. Nationals supporters await phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s expected June 4 arrival and the opportunity to draft catcher Bryce Harper with the top selection in this year’s amateur draft. The Capitals have hockey’s best player in Alex Ovechkin. The Redskins obtained a proven coach and quarterback.
Is this the year Washington goes from Loserville to Title Town?
It’s reminiscent of 1969 — the year that changed Washington sports for the past four decades. Vince Lombardi, the immortal Packers coach, arrived to lead the Redskins to their first winning season since 1955. Ted Williams, the “Splendid Splinter,” came to manage the Senators to the franchise’s only winning mark in 12 years. And Lefty Driesell brought the pizzazz, if not a title, to the University of Maryland basketball team.
Those three men changed everything. A sleepy backwater of sports became a front-runner. The Redskins spent the next quarter-century among the NFL elite, appearing in five Super Bowls. The Terps have been a perennial top-20 contender since Driesell’s arrival. The Senators skipped town after 1971, and the new Nationals didn’t arrive until 2005, but two out of three ain’t bad.
The 1969 power move was about bosses. This time it’s about players, which reflects sports today. Owners and coaches were once the faces of the game. Now it’s players too young to taste celebratory champagne legally.
A child shall lead us, Isaiah says.
The difference in eras reflects societal changes. The 1969 moves were behind seasoned winning leaders. Today, teenagers are celebrities as Washington fans ask youngsters with no credentials to be the next wonders. That’s dangerous thinking.
Ovechkin hasn’t done anything in the postseason despite winning two MVP awards. The postseason creates legends, and Ovechkin is no Bobby Hull yet.
Strasburg was a regular-season phenom at San Diego State but lost to Virginia in the postseason. It was just one game, but it shows greatness can be fleeting come postseason. Now the Nats are considering taking Harper with baseball’s first draft pick June 7. He’s 17 years old. He should be asking whether you want fries or your grass cut, not trying to become the next Mr. October.
Wall, at 19, isn’t much older than Harper. He’s known as much for dancing as playing basketball. The NBA is not a rookie league, though. Notice the abundance of gray warriors in the playoffs.
The Redskins are the only team flashing back to 1969 for its expectations. Coach Mike Shanahan has two Super Bowl rings. General manager Bruce Allen is an old soul whose father, George Allen, coached the team in 1971. Then there’s five-time Pro Bowl passer Donovan McNabb.
Of the city’s four pro teams, the Redskins have the more proven foundation for success — veteran leadership over young superstars. After all, it worked in 1969.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
