For me it's because of some of their awful fans that harassed Expos fans during their final years. It's very similar to the resentment you'll see in the Phoenix forum against the people who want to see the Coyotes move back to Winnipeg and insult them at every chance they get.
I hate the Nationals because of a vocal portion of their fanbase and I hate the Marlins because of their owner.
my favorite player was Delino Deshields and of course big Vlad is there too. Delino was all heart I remember one year the Expos was chasing the first place(93 I think) and Deshields during a interview near the stand high five fans and he was crying during his interview . All these double steals with him and Grissom was pure candy
I was there until the end proof I have a Nick Johnson jersey
Last edited by Quarantesix: 04-02-2011 at 03:35 PM.
I am (slightly) embarrassed to admit I followed the Expos to Washington after the move. I couldn't bring myself to not follow baseball anymore, and I couldn't tear myself away from the team.
I know it's considered an unspeakable sin to be a Nationals fan and former Expos fan, but that's what I am. Yes, the Nats suck (but maybe things will go better this year), and yes, I'd die for baseball to return to this city. Sadly, don't think it'll happen as long as Selig is still alive.
Selig is going to retire..
I know most people in Montreal Preferred NL rules but what if say the Rays moved to Montreal and became a part of the AL East? I mean natural rivals with Toronto and Boston. New York makes baseball teams a lot of money when they play away games. Baseball is adding more wildcard playoff spots next season.
I am (slightly) embarrassed to admit I followed the Expos to Washington after the move. I couldn't bring myself to not follow baseball anymore, and I couldn't tear myself away from the team.
I know it's considered an unspeakable sin to be a Nationals fan and former Expos fan, but that's what I am. Yes, the Nats suck (but maybe things will go better this year), and yes, I'd die for baseball to return to this city. Sadly, don't think it'll happen as long as Selig is still alive.
Well, I did too, 'cause there were still Vidro, Wilkerson, Hernandez, Armas and Chad Cordero from the Expos...
I know most people in Montreal Preferred NL rules but what if say the Rays moved to Montreal and became a part of the AL East? I mean natural rivals with Toronto and Boston. New York makes baseball teams a lot of money when they play away games. Baseball is adding more wildcard playoff spots next season.
Are there ANY MLB teams at risk of moving any time soon? I'd love to be back in NL if possible, but I'd take ANYTHING at this point. Since the expos left, I've sworn off baseball, but yesterday, due to certain circumstances, I decided to watch the Jays home opener (first complete baseball game I watch since the expos left) and it made me miss baseball even more than ever. And this is coming from someone that literally thinks of the expos every day of his life.
Te Royals are in the same boat the Expos were in their last years.
Unable to keep superstars, have to rely on good draft to get somehow good young player and hoping to win before thay ask fukcolads of money. Section with real cheap tickets, big promos, etc.
Went to the Nationals game today, terrible weather, terrible baseball and the Nats won sadly, but I was glad to see I wasn't alone rocking the Expos gear.
I hate how they otherwise ignore the Expos history except for two small symbols honouring Carter and Dawson. Karma will keep that team sucking.
I'm a Red Sox fan since the Expos left but I don't hate the Nationals. I did at first but I realized it wasn't their fault they ended up with our team. I went to a game at Nationals Park a few years ago, wore an Expos t-shirt, it was pretty cool. I wish the Nats all the best, they might have a good team in a few years with Strasburg, Harper, Werth and Zimmerman. They're my favorite National League team.
Went to the Nationals game today, terrible weather, terrible baseball and the Nats won sadly, but I was glad to see I wasn't alone rocking the Expos gear.
I hate how they otherwise ignore the Expos history except for two small symbols honouring Carter and Dawson. Karma will keep that team sucking.
Saw most of this game on TV today (was watching this and the Jays game). Was wierd how it started hailing. And did you get any reaction towards your Expos gear?
I'm a Red Sox fan since the Expos left but I don't hate the Nationals. I did at first but I realized it wasn't their fault they ended up with our team. I went to a game at Nationals Park a few years ago, wore an Expos t-shirt, it was pretty cool. I wish the Nats all the best, they might have a good team in a few years with Strasburg, Harper, Werth and Zimmerman. They're my favorite National League team.
They stole our team and have done absolutely nothing in honoring or remembering the Expos history. No banners, no mention of them at the Park (as far as I know) and they quickly got rid of all former Expos when the team moved to Washington. Imagine if the Nats started experiencing success? Years and years of a struggling team in Montreal and a few seasons after they move to a new city they'd suddenly start winning? I hope it never happens.
Saw most of this game on TV today (was watching this and the Jays game). Was wierd how it started hailing. And did you get any reaction towards your Expos gear?
Sadly no, the weather distracted most people and the belligerent drunks were busy either harassing Braves fans or trying to pick up girls. There's so few real Nats fans that you see as many people wearing gear for other teams as you do for the Nationals, I bet a lot of people didn't even know what the Expos logo meant.
Seems like it's common to have a few people in Expos hats a game. I'd probably have gotten more of a reaction wearing a Habs jersey considering the amount of people in Capitals ones.
Sadly no, the weather distracted most people and the belligerent drunks were busy either harassing Braves fans or trying to pick up girls. There's so few real Nats fans that you see as many people wearing gear for other teams as you do for the Nationals, I bet a lot of people didn't even know what the Expos logo meant.
Seems like it's common to have a few people in Expos hats a game. I'd probably have gotten more of a reaction wearing a Habs jersey considering the amount of people in Capitals ones.
Kinda suprising cause from the shots of the crowd on TV a lot of fans were celebrating/seemed to be into the game whenever the Nats got a hit or RBI hit. The bad fans must of detracted from the overall experience eh? And I've only been to games at the Rogers Center so I've never experienced rain delays, probably a frustrating thing.
They stole our team and have done absolutely nothing in honoring or remembering the Expos history. No banners, no mention of them at the Park (as far as I know) and they quickly got rid of all former Expos when the team moved to Washington. Imagine if the Nats started experiencing success? Years and years of a struggling team in Montreal and a few seasons after they move to a new city they'd suddenly start winning? I hope it never happens.
A few things:
a) The Nationals franchise might not be honouring the Expos like you want them to, but I don't see a big deal in this because they're not obligated to, it's a fresh new slate there, plus, Washington has a distant baseball history (the Senators), so any chance they can get to tie the Nationals to the "older" days they will, rather than the franchise that had to be sacrificed to get baseball back into the city. Also, I think Carter and Dawson were honoured recently enough.
b) They didn't "quickly get rid of all former Expos", and even if they did make moves, the team wasn't exactly super good in 2004, so why keep the same flow and not try and improve the team like they did by signing Castilla (rofl), Guzman, etc? Wilkerson stood around for a few years, as did Cordero, Schneider, Armas, Patterson, Livan, Johnson, Ohka, etc, to name just a few.
c) Nick Johnson was traded in 2009. It took 5 years for the last Expo to be dealt from Washington.
d) So let me get this straight: you're suggesting it's a crime if the Nationals end up becoming a winning team down the road? What? I'm not saying the Expos wouldn't have had success if they remained in Montreal, but to criticize a franchise for eventually winning after they leave is being flat out bitter. Should they be relegated to losing forever because they suddenly got a baseball team and the Expos struggled for all those years? I don't get this logic. Other than wishing for them to lose (which I understand, from your position and from others'), it's nonsensical to claim the Nationals should NEVER win because the team relocated there from Montreal. It's a different team, with different management and in a different situation; the 2011 Nationals are so distantly removed from the 2004 Expos and the Montreal Expos franchise that I don't even get the reason to hate the team and assembled roster of players in itself anymore. Hate them symbolically? I guess. But hate them for building a team that might eventually win because the Expos struggled? There are other places to direct blame for that than just the Nationals organization, starting with crappy management all those years in Montreal to MLB ****ing things up whenever they got a chance to back-stabbing/penny-pinching ownership.
And it's been 7 years since the Expos have been gone. If the Nationals are a powerhouse within 3-5 years, then it'll have been 10-13 years since the move, which hardly constitutes "suddenly" winning in terms of a timeframe.
e) They didn't "steal" anything. Washington was given a baseball team by Major League Baseball. MLB stole the team, not the city to which they moved.
I'm not saying any of this to troll, and there are plenty of fair reasons for former Expos fans to hate the Nationals, but I think the ones you list are somewhat ridiculous.
And yes, I fully expect to be flamed for this post, so I may or may not have the will or energy to respond to these incoming replies.
Kinda suprising cause from the shots of the crowd on TV a lot of fans were celebrating/seemed to be into the game whenever the Nats got a hit or RBI hit. The bad fans must of detracted from the overall experience eh? And I've only been to games at the Rogers Center so I've never experienced rain delays, probably a frustrating thing.
The atmosphere wasn't bad considering the conditions, I've been to a few Yankees games with rain delays and even on a more successful and popular team the weather tends to take the life out of the crowds.
The design of the stadium helps though, there's a big bar in in the back that was crowded all game and ensured that there was noise the whole time. Shows just how important a half decent stadium is to baseball, even though the team hasn't had the time to develop a real fanbase yet the stadium encourages a social atmosphere.
Though I do think it's funny how the Expos haters always claim Montreal could never love anything but hockey, while you don't hear the same when Washington fans look at baseball as an afterthought behind the Capitals (not to mention the Red Skins). I just don't see how anyone could say baseball doesn't work in Montreal when the Expos never got a chance to play in a real baseball stadium.
I have been following the Nats since they left Montreal and I dont understand why people blame Washington.... Blame Bud Selig and MLB they are the ones who Cost the Spos a chance at winning a WS in 94.
The Nats will be a very good team in a couple of years
a) The Nationals franchise might not be honouring the Expos like you want them to, but I don't see a big deal in this because they're not obligated to, it's a fresh new slate there, plus, Washington has a distant baseball history (the Senators), so any chance they can get to tie the Nationals to the "older" days they will, rather than the franchise that had to be sacrificed to get baseball back into the city. Also, I think Carter and Dawson were honoured recently enough.
b) They didn't "quickly get rid of all former Expos", and even if they did make moves, the team wasn't exactly super good in 2004, so why keep the same flow and not try and improve the team like they did by signing Castilla (rofl), Guzman, etc? Wilkerson stood around for a few years, as did Cordero, Schneider, Armas, Patterson, Livan, Johnson, Ohka, etc, to name just a few.
c) Nick Johnson was traded in 2009. It took 5 years for the last Expo to be dealt from Washington.
d) So let me get this straight: you're suggesting it's a crime if the Nationals end up becoming a winning team down the road? What? I'm not saying the Expos wouldn't have had success if they remained in Montreal, but to criticize a franchise for eventually winning after they leave is being flat out bitter. Should they be relegated to losing forever because they suddenly got a baseball team and the Expos struggled for all those years? I don't get this logic. Other than wishing for them to lose (which I understand, from your position and from others'), it's nonsensical to claim the Nationals should NEVER win because the team relocated there from Montreal. It's a different team, with different management and in a different situation; the 2011 Nationals are so distantly removed from the 2004 Expos and the Montreal Expos franchise that I don't even get the reason to hate the team and assembled roster of players in itself anymore. Hate them symbolically? I guess. But hate them for building a team that might eventually win because the Expos struggled? There are other places to direct blame for that than just the Nationals organization, starting with crappy management all those years in Montreal to MLB ****ing things up whenever they got a chance to back-stabbing/penny-pinching ownership.
And it's been 7 years since the Expos have been gone. If the Nationals are a powerhouse within 3-5 years, then it'll have been 10-13 years since the move, which hardly constitutes "suddenly" winning in terms of a timeframe.
e) They didn't "steal" anything. Washington was given a baseball team by Major League Baseball. MLB stole the team, not the city to which they moved.
I'm not saying any of this to troll, and there are plenty of fair reasons for former Expos fans to hate the Nationals, but I think the ones you list are somewhat ridiculous.
And yes, I fully expect to be flamed for this post, so I may or may not have the will or energy to respond to these incoming replies.
I totally understand your post/POV. I agree that I'm bitter and dissapointed the 'Spos moved to Washington (still, even after all these years). And as a self-aware Expos fan like myself, I can understand the point of view you share, but the bitterness that I still feel controls the bias I have towards the Montreal Expos. The reasons I list may be somewhat rediculous to you but they are the opinions that I, and some of the other Expos fans share. I won't flame you but understand that people who followed the team for years and years are rightfully hurt but the decisions that the MLB and Bud Selig made in moving the team. I don't care if the Expos moved to Las Vegas, Nebraska, Florida, North Dakota, etc... I would root against any of them.
I'm a Maritimer who spent 2 summers working in Montreal, 1992 and 1994. I had been an Expos fan since I was old enough to watch, and I joined in the growing excitement followed by utter disdain for MLB and Darth Selig in 94.
I loved the Expos and loved watching baseball. But in 1994 that all seemed to change. I still watched the Expos until the bitter end but hated watching them die a slow, painful death. Jeff Loria, talk of a new stadium that never seemed to pan out, games in Puerto Rico, Selig's relentlessnes in killing baseball in Montreal... what a sad, sad finish to it all. I have watched very little basball since the Expos.
Since then I completed school and got married to a girl who likes sports. Sadly, she's a Bruins fan, but I can look past that (although we happened to be at the 7-0 game a week and a half ago ). She eventually got me convinced to go to Fenway and see a Red Sox game and I have seen probably 5 or 6 in total, one from the front row of the Green Monster. I must admit, it piqued my interest again in MLB. Not enough to get following it more closely, but enough to remember how much I used to love it. I guess you'd call me a Red Sox fan now, but I still have vivid memories of the Expos. Heck, I even got my picture taken on the field with Gary Carter when he returned for his swan song! Wish I could find that...
Anyhow, I still wish MLB would return to Montreal. No chance while Selig is in charge, you can bet on that. When I saw how baseball started to be 'cool' again in 1994, and the city began to embrace them more and more, it reminded me that baseball CAN work well in the city. Especially with a better stadium in a better location. I never hated the Nats over it, just wish it hadn't come to them moving to Washington. There is a part of me that is satisfied they've done absolutely nothing down there, but I don't hate them.
Maybe someday, we'll have a team back. You can bet if we did I'd make it to some games - I get to Montreal every winter for some hockey, and with two young boys I'd love to make it a yearly trip to watch some ball in my 'home away from home'.
I totally understand your post/POV. I agree that I'm bitter and dissapointed the 'Spos moved to Washington (still, even after all these years). And as a self-aware Expos fan like myself, I can understand the point of view you share, but the bitterness that I still feel controls the bias I have towards the Montreal Expos. The reasons I list may be somewhat rediculous to you but they are the opinions that I, and some of the other Expos fans share. I won't flame you but understand that people who followed the team for years and years are rightfully hurt but the decisions that the MLB and Bud Selig made in moving the team. I don't care if the Expos moved to Las Vegas, Nebraska, Florida, North Dakota, etc... I would root against any of them.
Sorry if I came off kind of like an inconsiderate ass. I also understood/get how and why you feel this way, emotionally speaking. I thought about the Expos after writing out that post last night...so many memories all put to death by ********. 2003 was magical, we had it...and we lost it.
Seeing that guy cried on the last game made more sad as if it wasn't enough already....
I will hate the Nationals for 1 reason only.....They don't have the right to have what we didn't. I mean in all honesty, you could not have been a Nords fan and really be happy to see Colorado win the Cup the year after....Well same for the Expos even if we're past "the year after".....Stupid reason, I know, but that's how I feel. I'm going to be past that the day this city moves on in another direction as far as baseball is concerned, like having a AAA team. Not a freakin team in the Cam-Am league....a team that is the closest to a pro team you can get. The day we're attached to a major league baseball team....I'm rooting for them and move on from my Expos-Nats relation....Until then....go Jays, boo Nats.
). She eventually got me convinced to go to Fenway and see a Red Sox game and I have seen probably 5 or 6 in total, one from the front row of the Green Monster. I must admit, it piqued my interest again in MLB. Not enough to get following it more closely, but enough to remember how much I used to love it. I guess you'd call me a Red Sox fan now, but I still have vivid memories of the Expos. Heck, I even got my picture taken on the field with Gary Carter when he returned for his swan song! Wish I could find that...
