Why? The last people to blame in all this is the people of Washington. The Expos would have been moved somewhere else anyway. The Marlins should be way ahead of Washington on your hate list.
I loathed them the 1st season, but been "rooting" for them since then. Finally happy to see them doing well. Should be good for a few years with guys like Strasburg and Harper.
I despise the Nationals because they represent the feeling I had that last season when 11 year old me was holding on to shallow optimism that the team was gonna stay. Then Puerto-Rico came. Then it was almost finalized. Then it happened. The Expos were my all time favourite team, miles ahead of the Canadiens. And the Nationals represent that anger I had towards Loria, Sampson, Selig and MLB. Sure it's an unfair hatred, but it's not one that's going to die.
Imagine you had a really good girlfriend, but you guys broke up. Would you wish her well with her new boyfriend? No, you want her new boyfriend to not be as good as you were. Same feeling here.
I should also mention that I don't hate D.C., their fans or any of their specific players (Except Harper, but that's because he's younger than me and already has more money than I ever will!). In fact, I really want to see Strasburg exceed expectations (great first name and all).
I'm with you guys. Love baseball too much and really miss my Expos. Been following the Nats since 2005 and finally they are great. I'm subscribed to MLB.tv and been watching most games this year.
I despise the Nationals because they represent the feeling I had that last season when 11 year old me was holding on to shallow optimism that the team was gonna stay. Then Puerto-Rico came. Then it was almost finalized. Then it happened. The Expos were my all time favourite team, miles ahead of the Canadiens. And the Nationals represent that anger I had towards Loria, Sampson, Selig and MLB. Sure it's an unfair hatred, but it's not one that's going to die.
Imagine you had a really good girlfriend, but you guys broke up. Would you wish her well with her new boyfriend? No, you want her new boyfriend to not be as good as you were. Same feeling here.
I should also mention that I don't hate D.C., their fans or any of their specific players (Except Harper, but that's because he's younger than me and already has more money than I ever will!). In fact, I really want to see Strasburg exceed expectations (great first name and all).
I have that hatred, but towards Selig, Loria and Samson (petit trot et grand galot) and the Marlins.
The Nats are really a great fun team to watch right now.
I have that hatred, but towards Selig, Loria and Samson (petit trot et grand galot) and the Marlins.
The Nats are really a great fun team to watch right now.
I hate the Nationals, but for very different reasons than most. Under different circumstances I would have been neutral and maybe even attempted to stay a fan of the franchise, but I was pretty active on the FanHome/Scout Expos forum and there were a bunch of posters from Washington who really took a lot of joy out of spitting on the Expos' grave.
I think it's a lot like the Thrashers fans with the Jets: some had no interest in following an out-of-town team, some were able to hold on, and some were driven away by some of the gloating fans from Winnipeg.
The Marlins are by far my most hated team in sports though. The Nationals are on Bruins level in the next tier. Maybe I'd feel a little bit differently if they made any attempt to even acknowledge the team's history in Montreal but I don't know.
This is my neighbor, Jean-Marc Blais. When he was 10 years old, he won the chance to throw the first pitch at the Olympic Stadium. Still has his Gary Carter sweater. Apparently it was made of the cheapest material that itched so bad.
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"Our priority is finding the best possible person to help us win." - Geoff Molson
Oh No, again I have to post FACTS so everyone can understand why the Expos went bye bye.
The real reason the Fans stayed away is simply they had been lied too over and over again.
For years MBL had promised MTL that a level playing field was just round the corner. That a salary cap was to be added and therefore no more Expos players would be leaving due to BIG contracts offered by the 6 BIG US teams. Year after year the expos had great players be outright bought right off the roster and go to the BIG US TEAMS.
You know who they are. Unlimited funds to offer CRAZY MONEY.
It became clear the Expos were part of the MBL minor league feeded teams to the BIG clubs. After over 20 years of loyal fans the bottom started to drop out as more and more fans came to realize things will never change and that every year MLB would LIE to the fans again in order to keep attendance up and money rolling in.
Any time the Expos had a few great players come up from the minors and become a real talent BOOM, Some BIG club would just offer the kid a billion bucks and whoosh GONZO to the BIG team.
As a fan you can hope and hope and hope some more and for years believe all the LIES that a level playing field was coming next year.
We the Fans Gave up. You want proof? It's been 8-9 years since the Expos packed it in and WHAT,,, STILL NO level playing field.
I never want to see MLB ever again until it's fixed. I don't watch it on TV, I don't follow any of it. It's a dead sport to me.
If they fix it, they will come.
Well said, don't think I could have done better myself. And I too, once a huge Expos fan, have become totally disenfranchised with MLB. Those who think the city just didn't want a team don't have a clue.
Back by 2035? A lot can change over 23 years but hey, I'll be 48 at that point. Pretty sure that's enough time to save for season tickets to the opening season.
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"CS is one of my favorite people on this entire site." - ColePens
A lack of a salary cap didn't kill the Expos. Having horrible ownership did.
There was nothing preventing the Expos from doing what the Indians did at that time and signing up their youngsters to cost-controlled deals for years to come. But Brochu and his group ran the team on the cheap. As soon as anybody got too expensive, out the door. MLB didn't give a crap, they knew they had a market worth parachuting the Expos into.
Question to other Washington-haters, is there anywhere else that the Expos could've moved where you would still support them? My dad and I always agreed that had the Expos moved to Brooklyn, we'd probably still be fans. Which is funny because WSH is also a former market than went teamless for a while, but for some reason, I could cheer for a Brooklyn team.
Question to other Washington-haters, is there anywhere else that the Expos could've moved where you would still support them? My dad and I always agreed that had the Expos moved to Brooklyn, we'd probably still be fans. Which is funny because WSH is also a former market than went teamless for a while, but for some reason, I could cheer for a Brooklyn team.
Strangely enough I think I could have continued to support the team if they moved to Brooklyn, assuming the New York fans didn't make a point of rubbing it in our faces.
I became an Expos fan in 2000 (I believe) when my grandfather told me the team was off to a hot start and went on to learn that he had been a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan growing up. For some reason I think that connection would have been enough for me to stick with the franchise.
Baseball would still be alive and well had there been an open air stadium close to downtown, Montrealers love outdoors and urban gatherings, no question in my mind a return of the expos with a good stadium would be a success.
