Flying with Natitude

The Nats are in the playoffs again, which means I have someone for whom to passionately root in October. But this year it comes with an extra incentive. As I mentioned in my last post, Washington has two pitchers from the University of Dayton, where October weather resembles late November temperatures in Virginia.

Anyway, here is the column that I wrote for Flyer News about Craig Stammen and Jerry Blevins. Unfortunately, I cannot legally post it on my blog.

I will be writing another Nationals piece in the near future regarding Jordan Zimmermann’s no hitter on Sunday. In that game, I was honestly rooting for the Nationals from the sixth inning on–the first time I can ever remember specifically being against the Marlins. Once I realized how much it’d mean for Washington to finish off the season in such a brilliant fashion, it was easy for me to turn my back on the Fish. As my roommate Collin can attest, I enjoyed the final day of the 2014’s regular season:

“Even though I’m not a baseball fan I knew this game was a big deal. Steve was as giddy as a kid on Christmas Eve. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping the Nationals would lose so I could see how devastated he would be and laugh at him. I thought I would finally get my laugh when whoever was last person to bat hit the ball into the outfield but it was caught. Lucky hick.”

I’m not sure who the “hick” is because, according to Collin, “you’ll never know.”

Many people here at Dayton are Cincinnati or Cleveland fans, and there are a good number of Pittsburgh faithful. Especially since the Pirates are in the postseason and may go on to play Washington, it will not be easy to convert the Bucco company. But using the bait of fellow-Flyers Stammen and Blevins, I think I should have a decent shot at infusing some Natitude into Dayton. And I’m confident that fervor will extend through the World Series this year. Stay Tuned