In 2005, the Washington Nationals became the first MLB team to relocate and change their logo, team name, and color scheme. While I'm a history nerd and in particular a fan of worlds fairs, the Montreal Expos logo and uniforms were kind of a mess. Naming a team name after a long completed World's Fair was probably doomed to fail from the start and with Washington's long history of baseball, the change made perfect sense.
Washington's colors are (appropriately enough) red, white and blue. As a sports fan, I think their caps and jerseys are rather attractive. My personal favorites are the road blue cap and the throwback 1952-1960 cap, which feature a similar color scheme.
A friend of mine has critiqued the primary, "curly W" logo of the Washington Nationals as looking exactly like the Walgreens logo. After challenging him, I took another look at theWalgreens logo and was forced to concede . . . but I still think the blue caps are solid. Well Dressed Sports Girl thinks the solid W in the throwback logos looks a bit too much like a George W. Bush ad campaign.
Around the city of Washington D.C. - the solid red home hat is popular. If I lived in Washington, I'd consider picking one of these up to wear to games, but I don't think the home hat is something I'd wear anywhere else. The Nats have also featured a solid green hat as part of an effort to advertise a new cable channel, which makes me want to puke a little.
The solid red "DC" alternate caps are also popular around the city, as are the blacked out versions of these caps. I'd rate these as their third best hats as I find the gold to be a bit excessive, but these hats are certainly an improvement over the green fiascos.
The MLB Washington Nationals online store also features some incredible Senators jerseys, which can set you back a few bucks. On the other hand, they also make you look like a hardcore fan.
Finally, I'd submit that this sweatshirt is a nice option for night games. D.C. is a shirt and tie sort of city and a sweet hoodie can tone down your outfit after a few beers on a September evening. It is pretty damn hot in DC during the summer, so my guess is that you would only need a hoodie like this early and late in the season to wear to the ballpark, or in the offseason when you visit your parents in Wyoming.
If you're a fan of the President's races (and how can you not be?) check out the fantastic Let Teddy Win! shirts.
Final take: The Nationals are basking in the joy of a new stadium. The bars in the outfield have become a great place to meet other young baseball fans from the Washington D.C. area. Grab an 5950 road cap, break it in for a week or two, find the right sunglasses, then head to the game and make some new friends.
