happy stephen strasburg day! (copyright djfitz)

a year ago... being a nationals fan was on the same level as buying store brand cereal. you know, its cheap and easy but you would never brag about it or even voluntarily celebrate the fact that you like sugar crisps instead of frosted flakes.

now... there is a buzz about town that takes me back to january of 2009 when obama joined the 202. a young gentleman has come to the capital of this great nation who is going to save the day/season/country/franchise/economy.

dc seems a bit crazed... like philly the night that the flyers made it to the stanley cup finals(i made the mistake of driving through the city that night...someone was kind enough to throw up on my car. thanks.) and im nervous for the sake of nationals and new fans alike. not since the franchise returned to dc, has there been quite the level of excitement as right now. that comes with some upside and also some downside. he is a rookie. he is a 21 or 22 year old kid and has been touted as the franchise savior. im not trying to be a sour puss but if it does not go well today, the level of excitement may not return again to this level this season... which would be sad! the nats are legit this season... but its not about the nats. its about stephen, meaning that if he does not do well, even if the nats win, the excitement dies off and everyone is bummed out. but thats my nervous jewish mother coming out...

what im hoping for is he does well, which would obviously be awesome!! he could have that "lebron-esque" status in dc (which has been vacated since gilbert showed off his second amendment rights). and i really hope that happens. i do want to be able to get tickets to nat games in the future but ill trade seeing games live for a real excitement across the city. not only that but all the zimmerman jerseys will be super cheap as they try and push the strasburg ones!

so all in all, good luck today big guy! and regardless of what happens, GOOOOO NATS!