by "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
Published 10/29/2017 at 14:38
by "Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
Published 10/29/2017 at 14:38
No Tags
STARS: 4
Almost exactly 12 and a half years ago, I saw my first ever baseball game at RFK Stadium, as the Washington Nationals, then a brand-new commodity, defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-4.
It had been roughly 10 years since my last baseball game here when I stepped through the main gate for last Sunday’s match, the last-place DC United taking on the dominant New York Red Bulls in United’s final match, and the final game of any kind, at the historic stadium.
Reminders of the stadium’s past were everywhere. Outside, large monuments stood in honor of the stadium’s original tenants. One was for George Preston Marshall, founder of the Redskins, who called RFK home for 35 years from 1961 to 1996, and won all five of their NFC Championships there. The other stood for Clark Griffith, owner and manager of the original Washington Nationals/Senators, Baseball Hall-of-Famer, and namesake of DC legend Griffith Stadium. This monument, in fact, originally stood at Griffith, and was moved when the old stadium was demolished in 1964. Accompanying these monuments were two printed Redskins helmets on concrete, now faded, along with a bust of Robert F. Kennedy himself.
My seat was in section 311, close to the main gate. From it, I could see the pitch, much of the upper deck, soccer hooligans supporting both teams, and the old baseball dugouts, unused for 10 years.
With about 20 minutes left in the game, I decided to take a walk and take some pics. The concourses were small, cramped, and dark. Ramps were everywhere, and cables for various purposes ran over my head.
It wasn’t difficult to see why United was so eager to leave; the stadium is in an advanced state of decay. Many of the upper-deck seats, exposed to the elements, suffer from peeling paint. The metal framework of the stadium is coated with rust, and the football pressbox, unused since the Redskins moved out, sits abandoned.
The section numbers had been haphazardly spraypainted on at some point, reflecting the ramshackle nature of the decaying concrete monster.
Beautiful patterns had began to carve themselves in the rust.
And the game wasn’t without its events; as I walked around the upper deck, the DC Ultras fan group, seated directly below where I was, set off smoke bombs with the team colors. Shortly beforehand, the Viking Army, the Red Bulls’ traveling support group, had fired a flare into the open area below their seats, and set off another one in the center of their group.
These empty concourses and concession stands, once serving thousands of fans, were all set to close for the last time. The orange seats where I sat were used for likely the final time since they were installed. The sense of “this is the end” permeated the whole stadium.
As expected, the game didn’t end well. New York won 2-1, and the team’s 21-year tenure in RFK ended with a whimper.
The fans filed out one last time as United held a ceremony of team legends saying goodbye to what has become known as, “America’s Temple of Soccer.” Highlight videos of the team’s time there were played, and it was capped off by a firework show to bring a close to the 21 years United had spent as the stadium’s primary tenant.
I walked out past the old turnstiles, never to be used again. After taking one final picture of the stadium at night, I finally walked to my car and drove home.
The paid attendance for the night was 41, 418; the largest crowd at the stadium since David Beckham debuted for the Los Angeles Galaxy in a road game at the stadium.
After 56 years of service as a host of baseball, football, and soccer, the stadium, in its advanced stage of decay, has outlived its useful life. It’ll likely be demolished at somepoint in the next 20 years (knowing the DC city council), and replaced with some sort of park or a new Redskins stadium. But no matter what goes in, it’ll never have the unique charm of RFK. It may be a crumbling, rusty old concrete donut, but it’s our crumbling, rusty old concrete donut, and it’ll certainly be missed.
To quote one of the videos played at the end, titled, “If These Walls Could Talk”:
“If these walls could talk, they’d say thank you for the memories.”
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
10/29/2017 at 14:51, STARS: 0
My memories of RFK are all from going to HFStival when I was in high school in the 90s.
"hillrat" (hillrat)
10/29/2017 at 14:51, STARS: 0
Great post, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’ve been going to RFK a little longer than you have, but you capture the ghosts of the place very well.
Please keep writing!!!
"hillrat" (hillrat)
10/29/2017 at 14:57, STARS: 0
I remember the year Beck played and had multiple costume changes during a 30 minute set, it was amazing.
"McMike" (mcmike)
10/29/2017 at 15:02, STARS: 0
Things I have seen at RFK (in order)
Washington Diplomats
Washington Redskins
Washington Federals
U2 (1987)
Monsters of Rock (1988)
Several WHFestivals
ALMS Grand Prix of Washington
Washington Nationals
RIP RFK
"Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
10/29/2017 at 15:10, STARS: 2
I once went to a Nats game in high school with some friends because someone got deeply discounted tickets. Most of us, myself included, weren’t really baseball people. We started discussing the length of the walkway between seating sections that went around the entire stadium. Being a member of the Cross country and track team, I decided to run a lap around it to get a better idea of the distance. I ended up on the jumbotron just because I happened to run by while they were shooting someone else. I decided to go for another lap since it was a good run. About halfway in, I see a security guy ahead on his radio look right at me and nod. He steps in front of me and very firmly says “stop running”.
It was fun while it lasted.
"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
10/29/2017 at 16:19, STARS: 0
My ass was frozen to an aluminum bench many a Sunday watching the Redskins lose. And concerts, and soccer games. Even saw the Senators there late in their run.
"Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner" (gavinharter30)
10/29/2017 at 17:07, STARS: 0
A bit of story telling from the life of mini guy
My goalie coach for soccer used to be starter for D.C. United. You may have heard of him. Louis Crayton. He was extremely good back in the day. And as a Atlanta United fan I want to say good job for beating us 3 times this year, but we are still going to win eventually
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
10/30/2017 at 00:05, STARS: 0
I have to think a new paint job, some new seats, and some concrete patch work would be a bit cheaper than building a whole new stadium, but, whatever, its how things work. I believe Philadelphia still hasn’t finished paying for the construction of Veterans Stadium, and they tore it down 13 years ago.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
10/30/2017 at 05:07, STARS: 0
great pics.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
09/08/2019 at 01:25, STARS: 0
I have great memories attending Yankee games with my family in Yankee Stadium. My dad grew watching games in the same stadium and it was nice to have a shared experience in the same place. Lotta conversations happening in between those hallowed walls. Thankfully we were able to catch a game the last weekend the stadium was open. Fuck George’s asshole kids.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/08/2019 at 01:34, STARS: 0
I’m pretty sure this is a metaphor.
"Saab wagon is best wagon-now with less Saab" (saabwagon)
09/08/2019 at 01:37, STARS: 3
I originally posted this two years ago after DC United left, but in light of recent news I figured it might be worth re-sharing.
"Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
09/08/2019 at 03:20, STARS: 0
I saw a t his and the first thing that came to m ind was when I got yelled at by security for lapping the stadium. Then clicked on the story to find that I in fact m entioned it when you first published this.
"facw" (facw)
09/08/2019 at 09:05, STARS: 0
I had seats in the front row of the upper deck (over left field) for all five games of the ‘94 World Cup, and they were rather spectacular. The upper deck nearly overhung the field there, and since there’s no club level or luxury suites , just the small single level of open boxes, the upper deck isn’t that high at all.
I regret not making the trip down to DC when the Nationals first started playing there.
All that said, it is clearly obsolete as pro sports venue, and anything it might host would be better accommodated elsewhere. I just hope the city leaves it as parkland or at least encourages productive development instead of handing over extremely valuable land (and probably hundreds of millions of dollars) to Dan Snyder. They seem opposed at the moment, but we just saw in Calgary how quickly such sentiments can change, and it only takes a brief moment of political weakness to cave.
"i86hotdogs" (i86hotdogs)
09/09/2019 at 13:05, STARS: 0
Not sure why, but I am always fascinated and emotional about old stadiums. Like this one, or Houston’s dome, seeing stadiums like this that once were the biggest things in t he world now lay in disrepair.