Skip to main content

Is Bryce Harper leaving D.C. the best thing to happen to the Nationals?


The scene in Washington, D.C. last night was electric.  Phillies.  Nationals.  Bryce Harper.  Max Scherzer.  It was a scene that not even a rain delay could dampen. 

 This was, after all, Bryce Harper's first visit back to his old team.  The open question before the game was whether Bryce would be cheered or booed.  By the first at bat, there was no question. 

 Most of the fans in the stadium booed Bryce Harper during each of his at bats.  But it wasn't so much the fact that he was booed, but how much he was booed.  The booing was universal and frankly, pretty ruthless.  It was something we really haven't seen from the Nationals' fans.  They're usually too nice, too friendly, and way too forgiving.  But not on Tuesday.  Not when they felt betrayed (and we'll get to that later).

 First, I'm going to argue that Bryce Harper leaving the Nationals changed the fan base forever.  They finally have a taste of what it's like to have a brutal loss. 

 Sure, the Nationals have had disappointments in the past, but they still had successful seasons year after year.  They've always been competitive.  But they've never really had to confront what losing your best player is like... and to a division rival. 

 The Nationals are still fairly young, a new franchise that is still building trust and goodwill with its fans.  Apparently what the fan base needed was to lose its superstar to know how much it loved its team. 

 However, most of the fans feel that Bryce Harper is a traitor.  The fans feel betrayed.  I'm not sure I agree.

 If the Nationals offered Bryce Harper anything that resembled the 13-year, $330 million deal that the Phillies offered, then maybe, and just maybe, the fans would be justified in their hatred.  However, that's not what's played out.  Report after report has revealed that Bryce was offered significantly less money and a lot of the money would be deferred.  Arguably, it was at best the 4th worst offer that Bryce had, well behind what the Phillies, Giants, and Dodgers were offering. 

 And so, unfortunately, the Nationals fan base is booing the wrong person.  If they wanted Bryce Harper so badly, they may want to boo their ownership.  Ownership didn't think Harper was worth the money.  Ownership might be right here.  But it was ownership... and yes, it's the Lerner family, that ultimately decided whether Bryce Harper would stay or go.  A matching offer would likely have kept Bryce in D.C., but such an offer was not ever even remotely a possibility.  

 And so the brutal irrationality of sports fandom has reared its ugly head and turns the Nationals fan base in a rabid bunch.  A group that has no regard for its opponents and nothing but hatred for its rivals.  This may have been a crucial turning point for a franchise desperately lacking in character.  Ask any Red Sox fan or Cubs fan, and you'll hear long stories about the lowest of the lows -- the worst moments.  The pain.  The Nationals have yet to really endure those, until now, and maybe, just maybe, it may have been the best thing for them.

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of Allowing Yourself to Fail

I don't know about you, but I really hate to fail.  I am willing to do almost anything to avoid failing.  I hate it.  I am willing to do things I otherwise wouldn't want to do, only if it means I can avoid failing at something.   It's not so much about not getting what I want, however.  I think, in isolation, I can grapple with that outcome and figure out what to do next. The thing we seem to be afraid of is failing in front of others.  We worry about what they'll think of us and our reputation.  Our reputation is our brand, after all. But maybe instead of thinking about this in terms of a binary "pass, fail" set of options, what if the reputation is a set of options surrounding what you do about failure.  And maybe you were putting entirely too much pressure on yourself to achieve one outcome over another.   And so that  is our struggle, our call to action.  Fail - fail to allow yourself to grow.  Fail - fail out of ...
Read more

My body failed - what's next? How to fix it.

My body is f*cked. What's the best way to proceed?  Well, that's a tad complicated to answer - we're all snowflakes (translation: no, it's not that you're soft, but you are uniquely injured ). There aren't many worse feelings than knowing you are forever physically limited.  And if you fit into that category: I am sorry.  But here's the key: you cannot, and should not, feel sorry for yourself.  It beats the alternative (you know, not having a living, breathing body with flowing, pumping blood).   In this vein (pun intended), our goal is to use what we have.  It's to work with the hand we have been dealt.  It is to not stop at the first sign of danger - it is to see the danger, acknowledge it, and then move the fuck on.   You are not on this earth to sit still.  You are not on this earth to waste away.  You are not on this earth to do anything other than to inch closer to your potential. And so yes, there have been moments where...
Read more

The happenstance of failure - there is a rhyme and reason to the universe

Diagnosing the intersection of time and failure -  Failure comes in many forms. It can be the result of poor choices, lack of effort, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It can be a small setback, like a missed deadline, or a major catastrophe, like a failed business venture. Regardless of its scale, failure often carries a heavy emotional burden, bringing with it feelings of disappointment, regret, and even shame.    However, failure is not an end point. It is an opportunity for growth and learning. When we examine our failures with honesty and self-reflection, we can identify our mistakes, understand our weaknesses, and develop strategies for improvement. In this way, failure can be a catalyst for personal transformation, pushing us to become more resilient, resourceful, and ultimately, more successful.    What even is happenstance? - Happenstance, also known as serendipity or chance, is the occurrence of events by accident rather than design...
Read more