We Were the Champions: With the

We Were the Champions

Is D.C. still a District of Champions? It’s complicated.

By Kelyn Soong

@KelynSoong

During the Washington Nationals’

World Series championship rally on Nov. 2, 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser stood on a stage on Pennsylvania Avenue NW and leaned in to the microphone with a declaration: “It is true. We are the District of Champions!” By then, that phrase had become ubiquitous. The unofficial slogan appeared on T-shirts, hats, towels, and posters. Local professional sports teams and fans used the phrase as a social media hashtag with genuine pride.

The Capitals started the streak off by winning their first Stanley Cup title on June 7, 2018. The following year, on Oct. 10, 2019, the Mystics won their first WNBA championship, and the Nats followed weeks after that, lifting a championship trophy of their own on Oct. 30. For a 17-month span, D.C. sports fans embraced being certified winners in a town that spent nearly three decades experiencing letdowns and disappointment.

“I was not cynical at all,” says Chris Williams, a 40-year-old Northern Virginia native and Navy Yard resident who describes his D.C. sports fandom as “at the very top of [the] scale as far as daily interest and enthusiasm.” Williams is the general manager of Public Bar Live, a sports bar in Dupont Circle and attends about 40 to 50 Nationals games every season. He also owns a red T-shirt purchased in 2019 with an outline of the D.C. map with the words District of Champions in large, bold letters. “It was certainly an accurate statement,” Williams says. “D.C. was the District of Champions for a snapshot in time.”

But, he adds, it would be tough for him to wear that shirt these days—at least unironically. After the euphoria of 2018 and 2019, most professional D.C. sports teams struggled through a pandemic altered 2020 season, and both the Capitals and Wizards collapsed in the first round of the playoffs earlier this year. The Nationals are last in the National League East, and the Mystics are working through a new roster as former MVP Elena Delle Donne continues to recover from a pair of back surgeries. The Washington Football Team was pleasantly surprising last season, winning the historically bad NFC East with a 7-9 record, and could repeat the feat this season, but Dan Snyder is still the team’s owner.

“Some of the afterglow of 2018 and 2019 is beginning to fade,” Williams says. “The status of our current teams, I gotta be honest, I feel like all the teams are trending down, except strangely, the Washington Football Team.”

D.C.’s downward trend is another reminder of how hard it is to win professional sports championships. It’s an experience that only a few cities can claim with any regularity, and dynastic teams such as the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, and the NFL’s New England Patriots, are celebrated and well known largely because those accomplishments are so rare. The last D.C. organization playing in one of the country’s big four leagues— the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL—to achieve that level of sustained success was the Washington Football Team of the first Joe Gibbs era, which won Super Bowls in 1983, 1988, and 1992. D.C. United won four Major League Soccer Cups between 1996 and 2004, when the league was in its infancy.

Mystics head coach and general manager Mike Thibault understands how much has to go right in order for a team to consistently contend for championships. Before guiding the Mystics to the WNBA Finals in 2018 and a WNBA championship in 2019, he was a scout and assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1980 to 1982. In the 1980s, the Lakers, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, won five NBA titles and reached the NBA Finals eight times. “I think the first thing is that, at the end of every year, the simple mathematics say only one team gets to win,” Thibault says. “And in pro sports, no matter what league you’re in, there’s always multiple really good teams. So just because you win one year, you might’ve gotten the right bounce, the right break, or you stay healthy or whatever, but there’s always good teams every year.” The health of players is a huge factor in teams being able to remain consistent title threats, according to Thibault. Winning championships, he adds, also puts a target on the team’s back; opponents will tailor their rosters to beat the defending champion. Then there’s the mental aspect. “It’s understanding that you’re gonna get everybody’s best shot every night and there’s a mental grind that goes with that, and kind of from both a player and coaching standpoint in balancing out the emotional or mental part of being a defending champion,” Thibault says. Thibault doesn’t remember when he first heard the phrase District of Champions, but to him it means that all the professional sports teams in D.C. push and support each other. “I think that it helps the pride in the city,” he says. Asked if the District of Champions era is over, Thibault replies with a laugh: “I know we’re doing our best to extend it.” The origin of District of Champions is not completely clear. The earliest Washington Post article with the phrase comes from a July 28, 2018, piece by Mark Selig with the headline “District of Champions? Ted Leonsis’s Washington Valor win ArenaBowl after

“This is still 2-10 season” about the now defunct team winning the 2018 Arena Football League the District of championship game. Selig tells City Paper that he

Champions, “probably” wrote the headline but does not take credit because those for coining or popularizing the slogan. “Seems like that teams are still phrase was going around a lot at the time and I probachampionship bly did tongue in cheek (as if a pretty fraudulent AFL title clubs that we’ll qualified for civic pride),” he writes in a direct message. never forget.” Search for District of Champions on Twitter and you’ll get countless results, including one from the official Washington Capitals account from June 23, 2018. City Paper reached out to the Capitals and Monumental Sports & Entertainment to ask if either organization played a role in coining or popularizing the slogan, but did not receive

an answer in time for publication.

Regardless of who came up with the slogan, District of Champions became a vocal statement of pride every time a D.C. sports team did well. “District of Champions to me meant an opportunity to celebrate what we’ve accomplished in sports as a city between the Capitals and the Nationals and the Mystics and the Valor,” says Grant Paulsen, the cohost of the “Grant and Danny Show” on 106.7 The Fan. “I think people were more celebrating the accomplishment than they were projecting the titles to come. Now if they do, then add them to the pile ... They don’t take those titles away. The flags still fly forever. This is still the District of Champions, because those teams are still championship clubs that we’ll never forget.”

Paulsen, a 33-year-old native of King George County, Virginia, and longtime D.C. sports fan who has worked at The Fan since 2009, feels more optimistic about the direction of local sports teams than fans like Williams do. “I feel like we’re in a healthy place,” Paulsen says. “There aren’t that many markets that can claim recent championships in multiple sports, and we’ve got a bunch of teams that are still somewhat in the honeymoon period.”

For reference, Paulsen mentions that, despite the disappointing first round playoffs exit for the Capitals, the team had another stellar regular season in which they finished atop the Metropolitan Division. The focus this off-season will be whether or not the team re-signs Alex Ovechkin and general manager Brian MacLellan has said that it is one of the team’s priorities to have Ovechkin end his Hall of Fame career with the Capitals. Paulsen also believes that from a “big picture standpoint,” the Wizards have a nationally relevant player in Russell Westbrook and that if Bradley Beal stays on the roster, they’ll be a team “that’s on national TV a lot next year that people in the East [will] be paying close attention to.” The Nationals are the only team whose near-term future he says he worries about due to the thinning of their minor league system.

“Bottom line being I think there is plenty to be excited about in every sport for a sports fan in this town in a way that maybe hasn’t been the case for a long time,” Paulsen says.

But for fans like Williams, the honeymoon period is over. “I think that period is done now and now we’re in the throes of marriage and one partner has been asked repeatedly to clean up the dishes in the sink and that partner just keeps doing it,” he says. “Now both of them are cynical [about] each other.” Instead of District of Champions, Williams suggests that D.C. pro sports these days should be referred to as a “district of cautious optimism.”

But the memories of those triumphant 17 months still linger. The District of Champions era may be in the past, but at least it happened. “It was all worth it,” Williams says. “Like all the crap, all the snark, all the jokes at our expense, it’s all worth it when you win.”

Did you know?

You may qualify for assistance in paying your home phone or Fios Internet bill. Discounts for basic telephone or Broadband Lifeline service are available to eligible District of Columbia low-income residents.

Verizon Washington, DC Inc. offers the following Lifeline Plans as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier:

Economy II Service*: $3.00 per month for unlimited local calling. Value-added services are not included (e.g., Call Waiting, Caller ID). No connection charges apply. Also, customers will not be charged for the federal subscriber line charge. Economy II customers who are 65 years of age or older can have this service at a further reduced rate of $1.00 per month. Customers will receive a one-time discount on the cost of installing phone service and toll blocking is available at no charge.

Broadband Lifeline: Verizon Washington, DC Inc. also offers a monthly Lifeline discount to qualified customers who subscribe to Fios Internet service. Eligible customers will receive a $9.25 monthly discount.

* Full terms and rates for these services, including terms of eligibility, are as set forth in federal regulations and in Verizon’s tariffs on file with the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia. All rates, terms and conditions included in this notice are subject to change and are current at the time of printing.

Eligibility:

District residents who have been certified as eligible may apply for the Economy II program or Broadband Lifeline service for customers who subscribe to Fios Internet. Households in which one or more individuals are receiving benefits from one of the following public assistance programs or have an annual income that is 135% or below the Federal Poverty Guideline may be eligible.

9 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) 9 Medicaid 9 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 9 Veteran’s Pension Benefit 9 Veteran’s Survivors Pension Benefit 9 Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8)

Restrictions:

9 No other working telephone service at the same location 9 No additional phone lines 9 No Foreign Exchange or Foreign Zone service 9 No bundles or packages 9 No outstanding unpaid final bills 9 Bill name must match eligible participant 9 No separate Lifeline discount on cellular or wireless phone service 9 Business lines are not eligible 9 Phone number must match eligible participant 9 Must be a current Verizon customer or establish new

service with Verizon

An Application for Verizon Voice Lifeline or Broadband Lifeline service can be obtained by contacting Verizon at www.verizon.com/lifeline or by phone at 1 800 VERIZON.

To find out more information, you may also call the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which administers Voice Lifeline and Broadband Lifeline for the FCC, by calling (800) 234-9473 or by accessing its website at www.LifelineSupport.org.

Economy II and Broadband Lifeline are Lifeline supported services. Voice Lifeline and Broadband Lifeline are government assistance programs. Only eligible consumers may enroll. You may qualify for Voice Lifeline or Broadband Lifeline service if you can show proof that you participate in certain government assistance programs or your annual income (gross and from all sources) is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guideline. If you qualify based on income, you will be required to provide income verification. Proof of participation in a government assistance program requires your current or prior year’s statement of benefits from a qualifying state or federal program; a notice letter or other official document indicating your participation in such a program; and/ or another program participation document (for example, benefit card). Proof of income requires your prior year’s state or federal tax return; current income statement from an employer or paycheck stub; a statement of Social Security, Veterans Administration, retirement, pension, or Unemployment or Workmen’s Compensation benefits; a federal notice letter of participation in General Assistance; a divorce decree; a child support award; and/or another official document containing income information. At least three months of data is necessary when showing proof of income. In addition, the Lifeline program is limited to one discount per household, consisting of either wireline, wireless or broadband (internet) service. You are required to certify and agree that no other member of the household is receiving Voice Lifeline or Broadband Lifeline service from Verizon or another communications provider. Voice Lifeline and Broadband Lifeline services are non-transferable benefits. Voice Lifeline customers may not subscribe to certain other services, including other local telephone service. Consumers who willfully make false statements in order to obtain the Lifeline benefit can be punished by fine or imprisonment, or can be barred from the program.