As conversion stories go, it ranks at the very top. More incredible than Muslim to funadamentalist, libertarian to statist, vegan to butcher. Vienna, Va., this summer was home to the conversion of a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins’ fan to a Rockin’ the Red Caps’ fanatic.
Imagine.
His name is Chris, he’s 38, he works in federal law enforcement (doing really cool stuff with crime scenes and criminals that I can’t detail, darnit), he hails from a suburb of Scranton, Pa., and he grew up a diehard Steelers and Pens’ fan. He still loves his Steelers.
He has passions for skydiving and scuba diving and photography. Working with the Feds for upwards of 10 years now, he’d attended a fair number of Caps’ games in Chinatown over the years, adding a few more each season once Alexander Ovechkin arrived. He went to a lot of games — perhaps 20, including the playoffs — last season. Like a lot of people in this town, Chris got caught up in the stunning late-season surge by the local hockey team.
“They’re a bunch a kids who played their guts out,” Chris told me. “I’ve been sitting in Verizon Center for years just because I love hockey, just going to get my fix. And I’d always go to Penguins’ games when they came through, and rooted for them. But last season, night after night, you couldn’t help but get fired up by these [Caps'] kids.”
Early this summer, back in June, Chris decided to purchase a pair of full season tickets down in the 100 level. This wasn’t merely an act of disloyalty to his 35-year allegiance to the Flightless Fowl, this was an oath of new allegiance. Chris is attending hockey games¬†in Washington in 2008-09 as a Caps’ fan.
“If I had to point to one player who captured my admiration, it would be Mike Green,” Chris told me recently. “The way he skates, especially with the puck, and his offensive instincts — they’re just breathtaking.
“I’d watch him on his shifts last season and I just couldn’t take my eyes off him.”
Chris last season found himself rooting, initially, for Mike Green to make spectacular plays, and when he did, Chris realized that he was enjoying the Capitals’ success that resulted from them. And Chris can appreciate Mike Green’s labor on the power play point; he plays hockey recreationally in Northern Virgina all year long and mans the man-up point for his team because of his booming slapshot. He played competitive hockey through high school back in Pennsylvania.
The Caps have been rightly credited for building an exciting, contending team the old fashioned way — with astute scouting, sage drafting, timely acquisitions via trades and free agency. In so doing the team, which was very publicly upfront about its rebuilding plan and the timeframe required for it, laid the foundation both for an impassioned and loyal fanbase once the team got good but also, I’d wager, crafted a narrative appealing to those with outsider loyalties that nightly could no longer be nurtured. After all, those who attended hockey games between 2004 and 2007 at Verizon Center got to “grow up” with many of the players who are now the catalysts for a Cup contending Caps’ team.
“It’s not so much that I’ve grown to dislike the Penguins, although I didn’t appreciate [Sidney] Crosby’s diving and whining his first year,” Chris pointed out to me. “I just would go to the rink night after night and get caught up in the excitement.
“It’s an exciting brand of hockey,” he added.
I asked Chris if he’d told his family of Pittsburgh sports-loving teams back home about his conversion.
“When family comes to visit,” he replied, “I’m taking them to the games.”
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18 Comments
My wife of 10 years (this Sat), is a convert as well. It happened not long after we were married. My wife grew up just outside of Pittsburgh and her father has had season tickets to the Pens for 38 years now. In the 99-00 season, we got season tickets, though she liked the Caps, she was still a Pens fan at heart, donning the bird for Caps/Pens games, but caps garb all other games. Then, late in the 00-01 season, we purchased extra tickets for her parents to join us for a Caps/Pens tilt. As the Caps scored goals, she would leap up and cheer in her Pens shirt, right in front of her die-hard father. At that moment, she realized that she had converted to a full fledged Caps fan. In fact, the next year, she won a Caps convert contest the Caps held and was interviewed by Sage Steele (her first assignment on Comcast) and Ted pulled off her Pens jersey, stomped on it, and gave her a Caps jersey on the air. She is now so ingrained, when she went on bed rest while pregnant with our son six years ago, she asked if she could still go to the games. She then timed the C-section for the All-Star/Olympic break so that she wouldn’t miss any more games. And yes, we are spending our 10th anniversary at the Caps game.
What a totally cool story, stimpy! Thank you for sharing it. Yours is a special family indeed. Would I ever love to have video of that conversion/baptism ceremony involving Comcast and the owner.
For my money, you can’t read better stories that Chris and stimpy’s.
Beautiful story. I can’t wait for tonight.
This is a beautiful story. I’ll think of it fondly the next time the Capitals blow a 3-1 lead against the Penguins. I’ll say to myself, “Wilf, there’s a guy out there who caused himself a self-inflicted wound that didn’t have to happen. And he’s regretting that decision right now.”
I’ll have to look to see if we still have it somewhere on tape. Our VHS library is in storage. I was funny before the taping started, Sage Steele had just arrived that day in the area and she had to ask my wife what Ted’s name was.
Traitor! You can have the Caps. Go Pens!
Now all we need to do is convert Chris to a Redskins fan and his metamorphosis from evil to good will be complete!
El Guapo,
By virtue of moving to D.C., Chris also has a good job!
@topshelf
Football is different. There’s something about a football team that gets in your blood and can’t be transfused. I grew up in Philly and while I’ve become a rabid Caps and Nationals fan, I will NEVER EVER abandon the Eagles for the Skins.
@El Guapo
Actually, any one of us could “have the Pens” as you put it, they’ve been for sale, been purchased, then disposed of like a dirty diaper. Like so many Americans, Lemieux is stuck holding a bad investment and can’t get rid of it (Oooo, too soon?). Sorta like that rash I got one time and band camp…
All right, that is -2 from at least 10,000 that come to Verizon center to see the Penguins, and Maybe this alone will ensure the Capitals bail out in the second round of the playoffs.
Just like the Verizon Center was 50% orange during the playoffs last year?
Go home, Pens fans… We don’t serve your kind.
Yay for Chris and stimpy’s wife! That’s the way it should be.
This is a beautiful story. I‚Äôll think of it fondly the next time the Penguins blow a 3-0 lead against the Capitals. I‚Äôll say to myself, ‚ÄúLePue_38″, there‚Äôs a guy out there who caused himself a self-inflicted wound that didn‚Äôt have to happen. And he‚Äôs regretting that decision right now.‚Äù
I converted. Not from one team to the Caps, but from not liking sports at ALL my whole life (36 years) to being a rabid Caps supporter.
Last February, a friend of mine (rabid Caps fan, I think this condition is catching), insisted (nagged, begged wheedled) that I watch a hockey game with him. So, my first hockey game was the Caps against the Leafs. They had me from puck drop.
It’s to the point now that I’m reading about six hockey blogs, SI.com and nhl.com before breakfast. My husband, who isn’t a sports person either, is mildly amused and excessively bemused.
The cherry on top of this little story is that, for my birthday, a wonderful sales guy at the Verizon center spent months helping me get tickets to the game against the Blackhawks. I can’t afford season tickets, and he knew that, so he put together a group ticket package for this guy coming out from Chicago with a bunch of friends, and let me get a bunch of my friends together so we could all buy in and go.
Saturday night’s game was my first ever live hockey experience and there really is nothing like it at all. Jim, the wonderful sales guy, even came by before the 3rd period to wish me happy birthday, meet my family and friends, and gave me an Ovie Bobblehead doll for my birthday.
You can’t beat that kind of awesomeness.
@ Shirl, thanks for sharing your story, and welcome to the wild world o’ Capitals fandom! Great to hear Jim’s taking care of you so well ‚Äî personalized and personable attention like that goes a long way.
Thanks OC. For my next trick – I’m dragging my 62 year old mother to a game. Muahahaha.
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