The Washington Capitals have the rare chance to win a city over for years. Keep winning and DC becomes a hockey-mad town for a generation.
The Stanley Cup championship run made the Washington Capitals the toast of the town. After four-consecutive Metropolitan Division crowns, along with breaking through their own glass ceiling, the Caps are in the rare position to make Washington a true hockey town.
Although the team has found on-ice success since the early 1980s, playoff frustration left fans cold. No 3-1 series lead was safe. Yes, the 1997-98 squad broke through to reach the finals, but Peter Bondra and Olaf Kolzig were denied in short order by the Detroit Red Wings.
That Caps run was the last time any of the Big Four pro teams from Washington made the semifinals.
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Yes, the Wizards are improving despite a front office fans consider bad. The Redskins remain the default team, but years of meddling ownership has them as far away from a Super Bowl as you can get. On paper, the baseball Nationals are a talented bunch who cannot handle adversity.
For Caps fans preaching hockey’s virtues, getting past the Pittsburgh Penguins was the needed message. Everyone loves a winner. When Washington excused Tampa Bay, then the upstart Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL had a hold of casual fans from Baltimore to Norfolk.
Especially for Washington, a city which has so much to offer and a beleaguered reputation, this spring was their first chance to unabashedly go crazy. Every sip of an adult beverage drank from the Cup by Alex Ovechkin drew cameras and cheers.
Devante Smith-Pelly went from unknown scrub fourth-liner to folk hero. Braden Holtby’s dramatic save in the Finals will play on ESPN highlight reels forever. No John Wall pass, Bryce Harper bomb or Redskins touchdown can top the emotional punch of the Stanley Cup paraded around town.
As with the kids enamored with Major League Soccer’s DC United, children will want skates and expensive ice time for Christmas with their soccer cleats. We want to emulate our heroes and it is the Caps who gave DC an endless supply.
As the Nats bore fans with lethargic play and Daniel Snyder ruins the legacy of the Redskins, another long run this season gives the Caps the chance of taking top dog status for a generation.
Hockey has all the earmarks for a good 21st century sport. The action is fast. On flat-screen televisions, the product is sharp. No need for glowing pucks with high-definition. And, the players are approachable. Throw in contending the next few years and you have a winning formula.
Fates change in a flash, but the Washington Capitals control their destiny with a generation of DC fans in a way not seen since Joe Gibbs fed the ball to John Riggins. Enjoy it.