How D.C.'s pro teams are strengthening their bonds

One of the most joyous days in Nationals history came on a fairly random Saturday afternoon in June 2018.

The Nats won that day, defeating the Giants, 7-5. Bryce Harper homered. Gio Gonzalez lasted only 3 1/3 innings, making him ineligible for the win. Five relievers went the rest of the way to close it out, with Sean Doolittle notching the save. The outcome had zero bearing on the team’s overall fortunes during what proved to be a disappointing season.

You probably remember none of those details. What you probably do remember is who was in attendance that afternoon at Nationals Park: Lord Stanley.

Yes, only 36 hours after he was first hoisted in a hockey arena in Las Vegas, Stanley was hoisted in a ballpark in Washington by the newly crowned champions of the NHL. In their first official D.C. celebration since winning The Cup, the Capitals came to South Capitol Street to be honored before and during the Nats’ matinee game.

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom shared their joy with Ryan Zimmerman and Max Scherzer. Barry Trotz and Davey Martinez, who had been texting each other for several months, finally met in person and shared coaching philosophies. And two local franchises celebrated together, one congratulating the other one winning its long-awaited first championship, one hoping to help inspire the other to win its long-awaited first title.

“Just let them know there’s no curse or anything. They’re all gone,” Trotz said that day. “We’ve checked all the boxes and wanted to give them a real positive vibe, not only to the Nats, but all the sports teams in this area.”

It would take another year before the Nationals were able to return the favor, bringing the Commissioner’s Trophy to Capital One Arena less than 48 hours after they first hoisted it in Houston for a Caps home game that turned into another joint celebration.

It was the perfect encapsulation of the bond professional teams from different sports can create with each other, bringing a city together in a particularly special way. And given how long it had been since any major Washington pro team had won a championship at that point, it only added to the significance.

Five years later, is another local team about to join the club?

The Commanders, to be sure, still have a long way to go. They must first overcome one of their fiercest rivals, the Eagles, in Sunday’s NFC Championship. And if they pull that off, then they’ll need to topple either the back-to-back champion Chiefs or the often-unstoppable Bills in the Super Bowl.

But even if they don’t go all the way, the events of the last two weeks alone should do wonders to re-establish a bond between local franchises that frankly wasn’t all that strong over the last two decades.

While the Nats and Caps have always felt like close brothers – perhaps aided in large part by Mark Lerner’s minority stake in Ted Leonsis’ Monumental Sports – the Nats haven’t really done much in unison with the local football team since arriving in town. The former owner of that team may have had a lot to do with that, but that team’s lack of real success also had a whole lot to do with it.

We started to see that relationship change recently, though. Jayden Daniels and other Commanders rookies came to a ballgame last season. Martinez and some members of the Nats attended a training camp session in Ashburn one morning, as well.

Dylan Crews, a No. 2 overall draft pick from LSU, was on the field in Landover for a game this season to support Daniels, a No. 2 overall draft pick from LSU. If ever there was a perfect pairing for endorsements …

If the Commanders continue this improbable run and win it all in a few weeks, they would figure to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Capital One Arena for either a Caps or Wizards game. But you’d also have to believe an invitation to Nationals Park would also be coming – Opening Day, perhaps? – even if there isn’t a Super Bowl title to celebrate.

Washington often gets a bad rap as a sports town. But to be fair, this city went 26 years without one major franchise so much as even reaching its league’s semifinal round, let alone compete for or win a championship. Now, though, three of our teams have reached the final four in the last seven years.

That’s how you change your reputation as a sports town. And if success also happens to include more collaboration between franchises? Well, that’s how you create lasting memories that extend beyond one baseball diamond, football field or hockey rink.