Top 10 reasons the Montreal Expos are becoming the DC Expos

[andrewkay]

Top 10 reasons the Montreal Expos are becoming the DC Expos

• Outfield will be measured in feet, not meters (whatever they are)
• Website will be in one language only
• Only have to play one national anthem before the game
• Everyone knows the words to “Take me out to the ballpark”
• Only have to buy the American flag to fly over the stadium
• The team is guaranteed a new stadium
• Even old RFK Stadium is in better shape than the broken down, falling apart at the seams Olympic Stadium
• We get to name them something sensible when they move (Expos? What the h*ll does that mean anyway?)
• New hat design so we get rid of that dopey “M”
• At last the team will get to play in a place it can call home, in front of fans that will come out to the ballpark and support them instead having to play in front of crowds better suited to Single-A teams.

[PotatoPeeler]

I hope they don't keep the "Expos" name. This isn't the NBA.

[CMH]

11. A reason to pay for security.

[dougaiton]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

At last the team will get to play in a place it can call home, in front of fans that will come out to the ballpark and support them instead having to play in front of crowds better suited to Single-A teams.[/list]

Some interesting statistics:
2002
Tampa Bay - 13,157
Florida - 10,038
Montreal - 10,025

2003
Florida - 16,290
TB - 13070
Montreal - 12,662 (Olympic Stadium)

So, in 2003, had the Marlins had a terrible season, is it that unlikely to think that Montreal would have outdrawn them? If TB didn't face the Yankees however many times a year (where there attendances have been as high as 43k! Most often around 30k), then Montreal would have outdrawn them both years.

Basically, the Expos collapse in attendance this year is as much because they are going to be moved as being a particularly bad baseball town in comparison to anywhere else. It is pretty obvious from this that the two Florida franchises have been no better. They are newer though, so best keep them, ay?

Other great lie about the Expos - the strike killed fan support:
1994 - 22,390
1995 - 18,189
1996 - 19,959
1997 - 18,489
1998 - 11,295

Bad management has killed the Expos. If they were still punching at their '97 weight (i.e. still had a decent team), they'd be a better bet than Florida, Oakland, maybe even Pittsburgh (and they've got a new park!).

Maybe there's the crux though - Selig has no chance of getting a new park built in Quebec. While he still holds out hope for Florida, then they get to keep their teams.

[CMH]

wow, that's bad.

Didn't attendance overall start to go up in 1998?

[JWay]

I wish Vladdy went to Seattle....

[LivnLegend]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

Top 10 reasons the Montreal Expos are becoming the DC Expos

• Outfield will be measured in yards, not meters (whatever they are)

What stadiums currently measure their outfield in yards?
Football stadiums?

[andrewkay]

Originally Posted by LivnLegend

What stadiums currently measure their outfield in yards?
Football stadiums?

My bad. Feet is good. Yards is something in front of my house.

[Hoiles]

As a Montrealer, thanks for the kind words regarding the Expos. It`ll suck without having live baseball to watch and the Expos only living on in OOTP.

[eriqjaffe]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

Everyone knows the words to “Take me out to the ballpark”

Sorry, I only know the words to "Take Me Out To The Ball Game".

[andrewkay]

Originally Posted by eriqjaffe

Sorry, I only know the words to "Take Me Out To The Ball Game".

<deep sigh>

So nit pickey. Let me scan every post on here for typos and spelling errors.

[treedom]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

Everyone knows the words to ?Take me out to the ballpark?

Except you, I guess.

EDIT: Oops, I guess this has already been touched on.

[treedom]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

<deep sigh>

So nit pickey. Let me scan every post on here for typos and spelling errors.

Well, the context of the mistake did make it kinda funny.

[jnshmoo]

Originally Posted by PotatoPeeler

I hope they don't keep the "Expos" name. This isn't the NBA.

Dodgers?
Giants?

[treedom]

Don't forget the Braves and Athletics.

[jnshmoo]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

Top 10 reasons the Montreal Expos are becoming the DC Expos

• We get to name them something sensible when they move (Expos? What the h*ll does that mean anyway?)

The World Fair that was held in Montreal two years before they began play.

Expo = Short for Exposition.

The name would have fit perfectly if the team moved to Vegas. They've got Expos going on all the time out there.

Personally, I think they should go back to being the Senators.

[Dan Theman]

Originally Posted by dougaiton

Some interesting statistics:

Bad management has killed the Expos.

Hence the lawsuit by the minority owners

[andrewkay]

Originally Posted by treedom

Well, the context of the mistake did make it kinda funny.

Re-reading made me realize the altogether dumbness of it. Oh well serves me right for not thinking while typing (only capable of doing one thing at a time of course).

[andrewkay]

Originally Posted by jnshmoo

The World Fair that was held in Montreal two years before they began play.

Expo = Short for Exposition.

Two years before they started to play there?? Not too imaginative was it? We have this inaugaration thing here in Washington every four years or so. Maybe they should consider the "Washington Inaugarations". Makes about as much sense.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Originally Posted by andrewkay

Two years before they started to play there?? Not too imaginative was it?

Actually, I think it was sorta imaginative. Unimaginative back then would have been some fierce animal name like "Bears." Unimaginative now would be something like "Raptors" or "Predators."

And just to chime in on the earlier point made: it was definitely poor management that killed the team. The sad things are (1) how they just decided it wasn't important to try to get a good owner rather than a new city and (2) how they didn't just move the team once they'd decided on it, but made them linger in limbo for way too long. Way to go, Bud. You are to commishes what George W. Bush is to presidents.