Pretty funny...

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The team hasn't heard much about it yet, but those 'W's on so many baseball caps across the region are apparently taking on a political twist.

 

Does it stand for the first-place team? Or does it stand for "W, the president?"

 

Dan Mintz of Bethesda tells The Washington Post he's proud to wear the red cap with the curly 'W' because he can root for the Nationals and for President Bush.

 

But others say they opt for the caps the Nationals wear for away games -- because they're Democrat blue. And some go with just 'DC' on their caps and avoid the 'W' altogether.

 

A spokesman for the Nationals says the team hasn't heard of such political symbolism. The official line is that the 'W' stands for Washington.

 

But the vendors at RFK Stadium say they're hearing otherwise.

 

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=539132

 

In D.C., 'W' Spells More Than Baseball

To Partisan Fans, Nationals Logo Infused With Meaning

 

By David A. Fahrenthold

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 5, 2005; Page A05

 

A free association exercise: Think of a Washington Nationals baseball cap. What's the next thing that pops into your head?

 

Some people think of the old Senators, whose caps inspired the new team's logo. Some think of the first-place team they now root for, or of hometown pride.

 

Then there are those steeped in the kind of partisan perspective that forced the french fry to decide whether it was with us or against us. They can't get past the "W," as in the president's trademark middle initial.

 

That can be good: "My immediate reaction was, 'W! Perfect!,' " said Dan Mintz, 57, of Bethesda. "Not only do I get to root for Washington, but I get to root for George."

 

Or it can be bad: "I just couldn't get myself to wear the red hat with the 'W' on it," said Jerry Stewart, 41, of Sterling, who bought a replica of the cap the Nationals wear for away games. Those hats are Democrat blue; the home caps are Republican red.

 

Among the thousands of nonpartisan Nationals hats bobbing around the city, there are some whose owners intend for them to have political meaning. It's not unlike the difference between people who call the airport by the Potomac "National" and those who refer to it as "Reagan."

 

"It's a little bit of a thing," said Paul Strauss (D), one of the District's shadow senators in Congress. He bought one of the Nationals' alternate caps, which features "DC" instead of the W.

 

This is not, of course, the first time that a Washington baseball team has had "W" on its caps. The practice goes back to at least 1908.

 

When Major League Baseball officials were designing the uniforms for the new Washington franchise last winter, they tried to copy the loose, cursive "W" logo used by the city's last team, the 1971 Senators.

 

During the design process, a baseball spokeswoman said, nobody made the connection to a certain political figure, for whom the same 23rd letter of the alphabet is a down-home nickname.

 

"The political part of it never came up," said Kathleen Fineout, baseball's director of marketing communications.

 

So far, news of the political subtext still hasn't filtered up to the Nationals' front office, said David Cope, the team's vice president for sales and marketing. "Never heard of it," he said. "It's 'W' for Washington."

 

But in the lower concourses of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the issue is obvious to souvenir vendors. "They say, 'W? Does that stand for Bush?' " said Gary Berned, speaking of fans that visit his kiosk.

 

Vendor Mike Aman said baseball fans who aren't fans of the president often choose the caps with the "DC" logo, even after he tells them that the team doesn't wear that model during games.

 

Neither the White House nor either of the national political parties appears to have tapped into the hat's symbolic value. When President Bush threw out the first pitch at the Nationals' home opener in April, he didn't even wear a cap.

 

But at the local level, some politicians are catching on.

 

Montgomery County Republicans, for instance, wore matching red "W" hats when 32 of them attended a recent Nationals game. "They like the red ones, especially," said county GOP Chairman Tom Reinheimer. For Montgomery's Democratic Party, the "W" hat was not a source of pride but the subject of an internal debate by treasurer Simon Atlas. Atlas said he bought one of the red caps, then was torn between his love for the team and his unhappiness with the president.

 

Finally, he settled on a compromise.

 

"I'll wear it to the games," he resolved, "but nowhere else."

 

:lol

Lame

Morons

Way to bring politics into the MLB forum!

The W hat also isn't popular with the liberals because it represents the Washington Senators (in a town with no Senator).

 

Regardless of your politics, you must admit the interlocking DC hat is much cooler.

wow, that is just rediculous

wow, that is just rediculous

843959[/snapback]

Agreed.

Get the %$!* over it. You got a team, they're in first place. Shutup and watch them.

The W hat also isn't popular with the liberals because it represents the Washington Senators (in a town with no Senator).

 

Regardless of your politics, you must admit the interlocking DC hat is much cooler.

843958[/snapback]

 

It is.

 

The lame W hat doesn't match the uni. But I appreciate the time and effort the logo designers put into including me in a baseball uniform.

 

God bless them, and God bless America.

I think the W looks sharp.

 

I'm all about the classic look.

 

See: The Detroit Tigers

I think the W looks sharp.

 

I'm all about the classic look.

 

See: The Detroit Tigers

844032[/snapback]

Thanks CardsJimEdmonds15 :mischief

I think the W looks sharp.

 

I'm all about the classic look.

 

See: The Detroit Tigers

844032[/snapback]

Thanks CardsJimEdmonds15 :mischief

844050[/snapback]

 

C'mon dude, you're breaking my balls here.

 

I like the W. There.

As do I Markus, as do I.

I stopped wearing my Marlins hats because I found out the 'F' stands for f**k. :plain

I stopped wearing my Marlins hats because I found out the 'F' stands for f**k. :plain

845136[/snapback]

i dont wear it because it stands for Florida, the state thats screwing over our attempts for a new stadium

 

i only wear the BP hat

I stopped wearing my Marlins hats because I found out the 'F' stands for f**k. :plain

845136[/snapback]

i dont wear it because it stands for Florida, the state thats screwing over our attempts for a new stadium

 

i only wear the BP hat

845199[/snapback]

Yeah the old one with the M is pretty cool. :thumbup

The W hat also isn't popular with the liberals because it represents the Washington Senators (in a town with no Senator).

 

Regardless of your politics, you must admit the interlocking DC hat is much cooler.

843958[/snapback]

Definitley. Any time you can get a hat with 2 letters interlocking (Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Yankees, maybe some more) it looks really cool.

The W hat also isn't popular with the liberals because it represents the Washington Senators (in a town with no Senator).

 

Regardless of your politics, you must admit the interlocking DC hat is much cooler.

843958[/snapback]

Definitley. Any time you can get a hat with 2 letters interlocking (Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Yankees, maybe some more) it looks really cool.

845205[/snapback]

i prefer the W over the DC. its just a better look, plus theyre the washington nationals, not the DC Nationals

I think the 'W' looks pretty classy, but the 'DC' looks pretty cool too. I made a joke about the 'W' being Bush related when the first started selling the gear. I didn't realize people actually believed it.

:lol :lol :lol

This is an obvious propaganda by the Bush administration to help Bush gain support for Jeb in 2008.

Are you effing serious

I don't wear the 'DC' cap because it stands for Democratic Committee.

I don't wear the 'DC' cap because it stands for Democratic Committee.

845815[/snapback]

Youve got problems