The Stanley Cup will make its way to Nationals Park for the first time Saturday, accompanied by members of the Washington Capitals, who will bring their victory tour to South Capitol Street for the noon game against the San Francisco Giants. The Capitals’ official championship parade will take place Tuesday.
The Nationals planned a pregame tribute to the Capitals for Friday night, but the biggest celebration will take place here Saturday. The Nationals have been wearing Capitals gear for weeks now, led by their optimistic Manager Dave Martinez, who has conducted his pre- and postgame interviews in Capitals attire so consistently that it will be strange when he does so without it. Friday, he was wearing a Stanley Cup Champions T-shirt, and answered as many questions about the Capitals win and its meaning for this city as he did about his baseball team.
“Congratulations to the Caps. Well-deserved. Well done. They’ve got a great piece of hardware, and it’s great for the city,” Martinez said.
Martinez was in Chicago when the Cubs won their first World Series in more than a century. He understands the importance of drought-ending, and the difficulties that come with it. He is new to this city, too, but was quick to understand — and ignore — the doomsday playoff mentality of this city. He brought camels to spring training to suggest that the Nationals and the city will “get over the hump.” And he said he can sense what the Capitals victory meant after all this time, after so many close calls.
“Did you look around?” he asked. “It was crazy. Crazy. What fun for everybody. The way they went out and played, the style that they played, it was amazing.”
Many Nationals players tweeted their thoughts about the Capitals win, including Vegas Golden Knights fan Bryce Harper, who suggested the Nationals wear red jerseys Friday night in the Capitals’ honor. They will wear the red jerseys Friday night, which is not their norm.
Max Scherzer fielded questions about his thoughts, too. Scherzer grew up a St. Louis Blues fan, and played in hockey-crazed Detroit when the Red Wings were relevant. But he has adopted the Capitals now, and was a careful observer of how the city responded to its first champion in the four major sports in more than two decades.
“Wow. It’s unbelievable. Just to see the city and the fans, what they’ve overcome the past through years, for that to capitalize on the Cup and when the whole damn thing? Wow.” Scherzer said.
Scherzer admitted that watching another team break through after years of heartbreak resonated, and that seeing the city respond resonated, too.
“This is a sports town,” Scherzer said. “When you see the number of people that are passionate about the Capitals and what they’ve been able to accomplish, it’s so much fun to be a part of that and see that because they’re also baseball fans, too. They’re football fans and they’re basketball fans.”
Scherzer said he’s never seen the Stanley Cup in person, but it might be “the coolest trophy in all of sports.” He said the Capitals’ energy inspired him, that his main takeaway was how hard they played on every little play, how much they invested in every little detail. He also appreciated the vigor with which the city celebrated their efforts.
“People climbing up on streetlights, that gets me going,” Scherzer said. “I like a party, so … you see the fans partying, that gets me going.”
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