We Win Trophies

As I’ve said before I’ve become a strong supporter of DC United. They are one of the most successful teams in American soccer, and Wednesday, September 3, they take on newcomers, the Seattle Sounders, in the US Open Cup Championship here in Washington . I plan on being there. I’m already very excited!

My excitement is triply doubled for reasons best explained by the website, We Win Trophies. As the link explains, Seattle complained that they should be able to host as they will be able to sell out the mid-week game, which is not only true, but pretty damn impressive. Last year, DC hosted the game to a crowd of barely 8,000 fans – albeit die-hard fans. Seattle went on to say how their fans were best in the league and yadda-yadda-yadda. Well, that’s just a smack in the face to this not-yet-die-hard fan.

So the team is making a strong effort to draw in people to the game with this elusive We Win Trophies campaign. The story goes that the ads started out on the metro as signs that just read “09-02-09 We Win Trophies.” Then they got this weird sticker ad on the front page of a local paper, not The Post, that said the same thing on the front, but then you peeled it off and the back had info about the game. Now, it’s pretty well advertised all over.

As much as I love that they can say “We Win Trophies,” I’m worried about what it implies. The Washington Nationals are currently last place in baseball, the Redskins are perpetual under-achievers, the Capitals are really good but can’t, well, win a trophy, and the Wizards… basketball’s so far off my radar that I’m not sure what to say. DC United has definitely been the most consistent championship team, but it is need of more fans and I’m just not sure that it’s smart to lift yourself up by putting the others down.

When I worked as a counselor, we would call that a thinking error – Views Self as a Good Person. (That wasn't what we called it, but it's the same list, same author and I can't remember what we called it.)

Regardless, I’ll be there; I encourage anyone and everyone to come. It should be a great game and I’d love to see the seats full.

Plus, at the end of the game, there’s not just a winner, there’s a champion, trophy and all. How many games that you’ve been to can you say that? Go United!