Swengali: A Lost Connection With the Nats

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HAVE YOU EVER lost touch with a friend for a while — not because you had a fight, but because there just wasn't a whole lot of news to report?

This, I think, is similar to the problem facing the Washington Nationals.

According to a study released this week, an average of 9,000 fans tune in to the Nats' televised games each night. Not only is this by far the lowest number in major league markets, but it is also significantly less than the number of fans who watch D.C. United play that other football.

Some will say D.C. is showing why it lost two baseball teams already. Others may argue this city is full of fair-weather fans just waiting for a winner.

There may be some truth to both explanations, especially the latter, yet I don't think either gets at the real heart of the matter.

This current team is lousy and, worse yet, boring. It was boring last year and two seasons ago, too. Only the remarkable first half of the inaugural year brought any real excitement.

Fans have settled into a routine of not watching the Nationals, whose games were not even televised regularly until the second season, when the going got tough.

Baseball fans exist here, as Washington draws three times its TV audience at home games. The new park is nice, and taking in a live game is always fun.

Sitting on a couch trying to figure out which MASN channel the hometown team is losing on isn't nearly as fun.

"Same old Nats" should be the team's motto. When the team changes its fortune, fans will change the channel and catch up with their friends.

Photo by John McDonell/TWP