Swengali: D.C. Is Still for the Birds

RIDING THE METRO home Saturday night, I was washed away in a sea of orange.

Orioles fans were everywhere in a city that's supposed to be a Nationals town.

I don't know where they've been the past few years — perhaps creating Peter Angelos voodoo dolls — but it appears the Washingtonians who cheered for the Birds when D.C. had no baseball team still exist.

And, more importantly, their team is better and more interesting to watch than the Nationals.

The enormous crowds at Nationals Park over the weekend hinted at the potential of a real rivalry.

But let's not kid ourselves. The Orioles fans were not showing up at the new stadium hoping to see the home team beaten to a pulp.

They were taking advantage of the chance to see their team without having to drive up Interstate 95.

I admire the Orioles fans' loyalty. There really is no reason they should stop cheering for the team they favored growing up even though another team has moved closer to home. And if you stick with a team as painfully pathetic as the Orioles have been, more power to you.

Once the O's and Nats start fielding good teams, some passion might emerge from both sides about the outcomes of their interleague series.

This weekend, though, it was nice to see that park completely full of baseball fans — even if orange was mixed in with the red.

Photo by John McDonnell/TWP