The New Versus the Old in D.C.

It's the new vs. the old with the Nationals and Yankees this weekend.

 In the great world of sports, there are rivalries between teams and then there are rivalries between cities. Often times, the ladder is born from the former, as in the way Yankees fans learned to hate the Phillies by following the ways of their compatriots from Metlife Giants Stadium. Now the NYC-Philly vendetta is alive and well, even with the skates hung up and the start of the football season a Hail Mary away. These are the kind of all-encompassing, bitter feuds we love; the ones that impel a Knicks fan to flick the bird at a kid in a Flyers cap, even if he hasn’t watched a hockey game since February 22, 1980.

There may be one such rivalry brewing between New York and Washington D.C. For years, the only thing these two cities disagreed on was football. And while the animosity between the Redskins and Giants is fervid, it has long stayed within the confines of the gridiron. But recently, by way of the three playoff series between the Capitals and Rangers, this rancor has seeped its way onto the ice, giving New Yorkers and Washingtonians another reason to toss beer at each other (or just at John Tortorella).

This weekend we might see the beginnings of a third NYC-DC clash. This one, believe it or not, will be bred on the ball-field, stirred by stolen bases, strikeouts and homeruns…A lot of homeruns. (So far, the Yankees and Nationals have combined for 158 homeruns, ranking 1^st and 6^threspectively in the league.) But most of all, it will be flavored by the always-fascinating intersection of young and old, of innocence and experience. The Old Guard, the Mainstay – the Yankees – take the field in Nationals Park on Friday night looking to swat away the Up and Comer, the brash “New Guy” – the Nationals. And moreover, with the oldest team in baseball taking on one off the youngest, there’s a dynamic of self-assertion and self-evaluation. The Yanks are out to prove to themselves that they still have it, while the Nats get a chance to test themselves against the best. And though they’ll tell you, in typical professional fashion, that its just another series and just another chance to “win a few ballgames”, don’t be duped. Something’s happening here.

In one dugout sits a handful of aging superstars and waning veterans. In the other, a brazen bunch of budding phenoms and future all-stars. The first dugout holds everything the second wants to become. The second dugout resembles everything the first hopes it still is. Game on.