A Potentially Counterproductive Promo From the Nationals

This won't end well.

Today I received this email in my inbox from the Nationals.

I am a "Nationals Insider," meaning that I get all of their promotional emails such as the one above. I don't hate them, as I have said in other posts on the blog.  In fact, I actually like several of their players.  But of course I am first and foremost a Phillies fan.  The Phillies fans got a hold of this email and the blog post in the Washington Post, and they are having a field day with it.  I think this will encourage even more Phillies fans to go to Citizen's Bank Park South Nationals Park, only they will arrive even more enthused and obnoxious just because they know the Nats really don't want them there.  Hey, I make no excuses for the behavior of Philadelphia sports fans--it is what it is. There will be cursing, excessive drinking, and obnoxious signs held up.  Be assured of that.

Seeing as I am from Maryland, I can buy tickets (sort of counterproductive?)! They make you buy at least two tickets--no singles here.  I decided to see what would happen when I clicked, so here goes:

The tickets behind the visitor's dugout are $85 each as of right now. Those prices skyrocket when the tickets go on sale on StubHub weeks before the games.

I understand what the Nationals are trying to do, I am just not sure how well it will work.  Their buy one get one free season ticket offer didn't go so well last year, and they had some games where you could buy a ticket for $1.  Yes, $1.  

I have gone to several of the Nats home games when the Phillies were in town, and yes--there are far more Phillies fans in the park than Nats fans.  In fact, you have to really look hard to find someone wearing Nationals gear, hence the need for an email such as the one fans received.  Whether it will work is another story.

The Nats are going to be pretty good this year, so maybe next year they won't need to send emails such as this.  But you cannot force fandom on people. People aren't all of a sudden going to be overcome with "Nationals Pride," especially in February.  The reason the Phillies draw such a crowd is because they win.  The same can be said for teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and other teams with large fan bases.  The reality is that the Nats have traditionally not been winners, but they are getting better.  It'll be interesting to see what happens the first weekend in May.