Photo by PruittAllen on Flickr
I’m not going to make any assumptions that we have collectively healed from last Friday’s night brutal, painful and heartbreaking loss. No, my first foray into sports fandom has caused me to experience an existential crisis and I fear I can’t bear to do it all over again. Mercifully we don’t have to. Not for a while anyway. Why, even our young Bryce has taken up golf and I say good for him. Let’s move on together, for Bryce and for each other.
Here’s a few ideas:
Tonight the Zombies take over H Street. Brightest Young Things is hosting a multiple venue event which-is-NOT-a-bar-crawl-I-can’t-believe-you’d-suggest-that. Sheesh. Buy your ticket. Show up on H dressed in finest Walking Dead attire and then enjoy a slew of S Street specials. All of the information is laid out for you here http://zombie.eventbrite.com/ Most intriguingly, all participating zombies receive $5 off admission to some cool hipster created Haunted House in…Rockville?
But perhaps you (Tim) are thinking..I’m neither bright nor am I young and there is no way I want to dress up like a zombie. Well there IS a party for you tonight. The Half-Assed Halloween Fundraiser! This party, hosted by Rebecca Scott sprang out of the idea that celebrating Halloween can be tremendous fun but also awfully stressful. So they created a party where you’re *supposed* to throw your costume together. The very popular event has outgrown their home so this year they are hosting it at the newly reopened 201 Bar on 2nd and Massachusetts NE. The party raises fund for Multiple Sclerosis research. Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door. More information can be found here : http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/iw3h54nt2izxh8xef
Friday night is a time for irreverence so head to the Atlas for the Great Noise Ensemble’s concert featuring a piece title Irreverence which they say is “a program brimming with music with an impish, even confrontational manner, with a nice smattering of irony for good measure. Great Noise is a new resident at the Atlas and the leader Armando Bayolo curates all of the Center’s New Music performances. The concert begins at 8pm and tickets are available on the Atlas website http://atlasarts.org/events/2011/07/new-music-at-the-atlas-great-noise-ensemble-2/
Friday evening the Hill Center continues its Documentary Fridays with Seeking Happily Ever After, a film exploring the increasing number of women who remain single into their 30s and beyond.
Saturday The Hill Center offers a children’s concert at 11am. Victor Provost is a master at the Carribean jazz and steel pans. He began playing at the age of 11 and music has taken him around the world. His percussive performance is $15 and tickets can be reserved on the Hill Center website. http://hillcenterdc.org/home/programs/651
Over at the Atlas the Theatre for the Very Young series is back. The first offering is Mouse on the Move by Imagination Stage. These performances are designed for the littlest audience, kids between the ages of 1 and 5 are the target age range. Performances are at 10am and 11:30 on Saturday and at 2:30 on Sunday. Tcikets are $8 and are available on the Atlas website. http://atlasarts.org/events/2011/07/theatre-for-the-very-young-mouse-on-the-move/
Saturday night is the Literary Feast! And we are hosting. WHAT WAS I THINKING? No, no it will be fine I just have a lot to do before now and Saturday night. Breathe. The event is all sold out so there is no chance to experience dining on a folding chair in my living room. Maybe next year!
Sunday, The Fridge is featuring three graffiti documentaries with commentary by a panel of DC and Baltimore-based experts – HKS 181 (DC Metro graffiti artist), Paris Bustillo (director of BORF), and JAZI (Baltimore legend). The line up is:
1:00pm: Stations Of The Elevated (1980) directed by Manfred Kirchheimer
3:30pm: Style Wars (1983) directed by Tony Silver with Henry Chalfant
5:00pm: BORF (2010) directed by Paris Bustillos
They ask for a $10-$20 donation if you come for the day.
So there you go. I totally am not thinking about baseball right now.
Existential crisis? Gimme a break for crying out loud. You Nats “fans” follow a team for three weeks, pretend to be engrossed into the sport and become so heartbroken when they lose. Grow up. Real sports fans have been riding this roller coaster for a lot longer than you smug “fans.”
As someone who has been a season ticket holder since their first year and go to spring training every year — along with many other Nats fans who cheer for far more than just three weeks — I respectfully disagree. Are you possibly from a certain rival city to the north?
Hey Chris, no offense, but quite a few of us have been with the Nats since day one. I’ve been on this roller coaster and the O’s for my whole life.
And honestly, I don’t care if we get a bunch of new fans because of the playoffs. Simply put, we need them! It’s the only way we can turn our team into a long-lasting franchise and make baseball a bigger priority (at least in October) than football.
I think I was very clear with that intentionally melodramatic opening that this is all new to me. Despite growing up in a Mets/NY Giants obsessed household none of it stuck. This change has been a gradual process, primarily because my kids are so into it and it’s fun to be a part of it with them. (Despite my urging neither has taken up tap dancing or the cello so I was the one who had to stretch beyond my comfort zone.) The melodrama was based on fact. I had to talk my 12 year old down from the ledge last week. Over the years I’ve witnessed other people get wrapped up in sports and could not fathom why. I still ridicule my husband’s absurd devotion to the Redskins. So when I found myself experiencing these unfamiliar and oddly powerful emotions due to the loss last week it did throw me into a bit of a “Well what am if I am not a sports hater?” moment. I believe in last week’s To Do I referred to this strange new phenomena as possibly a form Stockholm syndrome. I’m making fun of myself.
But again your comment actually bring me back to my original “why the hell do people care so much” stance on sports fandom. Sorry for being late to your party but life is a long process dude. If we don’t grow and change we may end up being cranks who jump on other people’s fluffy blog posts on the Internet.