Comments on: SF Giants at Washington Nationals becomes NY Giants at Washington Senators. Pictures!

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 17:32:21 +0000

In reply to Paul. Yikes- formatting did NOT work...apologies to anyone who reads that.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 17:29:26 +0000

I was actually at the game and it was one of the better Nats games that I’ve been to but I also feel like turn-back-the-clock didn’t quite go as far as it could have.

The Good:
-Flapper jazz music & organ music (really changed the mood entirely)
-Brought out an old-time announcer (wish I remembered his name) to introduce the line-ups and between innings he gave a game-by-game account of the 1924 World Series.
-Uniforms were simple but great (my guess about the Nats wearing their road helmets was that it was a better match to the caps they were wearing, there also wasn’t any red on the retro uniforms so the home helmets would’ve made less sense from an aesthetic standpoint.
-The old-time programs were REALLY cool (also made a great fan for the DC heat).
-The crowd seemed into it and everyone seemed to enjoy the event.

The Bad:
-Only the team and groundscrew wore retro uniforms. Stadium attendants wore straw hats (maybe they do that all the time anyway?) and one kid selling programs wore a scally cap but otherwise the vendors and concessions crew dressed as they always do.
-The scoreboard went for a retro look but didn’t “function” as a retro scoreboard- it still flashed and played replay videos (though in b&w). I know it’s a trifle, but more authenticity would’ve helped.
-The weather was awful, but there’s nothing the team can do about that.
-Overall what seemed like a great idea to go all-out retro was only incompletely executed and a few minor tweaks really could’ve taken the retro feel further.

Prediction:
-Maybe introducing retro uniforms and Nats’ history means the team is thinking of solidifying its ties to DC baseball history via retro 3rds and rolling out more retro pennants around the field? Too soon to know, but it would be great to give the team some more historical context considering DC’s long baseball history.

PS:
-As an Expos fan, I hated that the Nats always seemed to paint over their Montreal past. This was my first trip to the park where I saw memorial plaques to Andre Dawson and Gary Carter in the stands behind home plate, complete with Expos colors and logos. It’s small, but it was nice to finally see.

By: ExposGotRobbed94

ExposGotRobbed94 — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 00:51:18 +0000

They should throw back to the expos

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 22:10:45 +0000

not as exciting as i thought it would be

By: Stets5150

Stets5150 — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 20:55:23 +0000

In reply to Larry. No they are not the Rangers. You're thinking of the 1961 expansion Senators. They became the Rangers. The A.L. charter Senators/Nationals that the current Nationals paid tribute to became the Twins.

By: Larry

Larry — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:40:57 +0000

Aren’t the Senators now the Rangers?!?

By: Nicky Santoro

Nicky Santoro — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:37:42 +0000

Wow! I like all the effort they put in, down to the scoreboard. Nice event.
I would love to see an alternate Nationals cap with the old Senators W logo seen here, but with present red and white colour scheme applied.

By: WFY

WFY — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:23:59 +0000

I’m glad the Nats celebrate the city’s baseball history (Senators/Nationals — they were used interchangeably until the mid-1950s), rather than the corporation’s history (Expos). I can’t flick a switch and pretend that the exploits of Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, etc. are relevant to the current team — those memories aren’t mine, they belong to Montreal fans.

Montreal is a wonderful city and I hope someday the Expos can be reborn.