When Phil And Gary Cut Down The Nets All That’s Good In DMV Sports Went With It
10 years ago yesterday Juan Dixon and Gary Williams cut down the nets in the Georgia Dome, celebrating the Maryland Terrapins first National Basketball Championship. 10 years ago today, my life as a fan of DMV sports teams started a 10 year run of futility that I thought I would never witness in my lifetime.
Before I dive into the depressing facts of my last 10 years as a fan of the Orioles, Redskins, Terps and Wizards…I want to acknowledge that very special 2001-2002 Terps team. Gary led a group of overachievers to a 32-4 overall record and a 15-1 ACC mark. The Terps took down basketball powerhouses Wisconsin, Kentucky, Uconn, Kansas and Indiana during the tourney on their way to the title. Guys like Lonny Baxter, Steve Blake, Byron Mouton, Drew Nicholas and Chris Wilcox all played key roles for the team. To this day…maybe forever, Juan Dixon remains my all-time favorite college basketball player.
Now, the aftermath. I root with a passion for the four teams I mentioned earlier. I’m a Caps fan as well, but not to the extent of the other 4 teams. Since April 1, 2002 not one of the four teams I root for have won a title. Not 1 of those teams have even played for a title. In the case of the Orioles, Redskins and Wizards, well, the last 10 years have down right sucked. Sure, there’s been a few minor bright spots, but all in all it’s been bad, real bad. Here’s a look at my decade of suck:
Baltimore Orioles - The Orioles are 227 games under .500 during the last 10 seasons. They’ve finished next to last or last in the AL East 9 out of those 10 years and have a 4 year streak of finishing last. The Orioles have gone thru 6 managers since 2002. The O’s have lost 930 games during the last 10 years!!!
Maryland Terrapins - The football team had a nice little run from 01-03’ winning 2 bowl games and finishing in the top 20 each year. Since 2004 things have not been so good. The Terps are 46-52 and have finished below .500 in four of the last eight seasons. The basketball team did win the ACC Tournament in 2004 but since then they’ve missed the NCAA tournament in 5 out of 8 seasons and have finished in the top 20 just 2 times. Overall, Maryland athletics is the team that has let me down the least over the last 10 years.
Washington Redskins - The Redskins have had just 2 winning seasons in the last 10 years. They both came under Joe Gibbs and the little runs they went on to make the playoffs those 2 seasons were enjoyable. Other than those 2 short runs and 1 playoff win, it’s pretty much been a nightmare. The Redskins are 65-95 over the last 10 seasons. The Redskins have had 4 Head Coaches during the last 10 years.
Washington Wizards - The Wizards had a run where they made the playoffs 4 seasons in a row but couldn’t get over the hump and their window for success closed very rapidly. The Wizards have had 4 seasons when they have won less than 31% of their games. The Wizards have had 5 Head Coaches during the last 10 seasons and are 110 games below .500, in the last 3 years alone!
To recap, my favorite teams have gone thru 19 head coaches/managers in the last 10 years. These teams have combined to have non-winning seasons 28 times during that span. I moved to Florida 8 years ago but I’ve continued to root for these teams. I’ve never once wavered in my loyalty. I think I’m due for a little payback…the last 10 years have been rough.
Cheers and Hail
