The Washington Nationals have not been super great in the ballpark lately, so fans of the beleaguered team are looking to celebrate alternate expanses of grass and dirt.
After their team gave up walk-off home runs on consecutive nights — first a grand-slam blast to Chicago Cubs rookie David Bote on Sunday, then a neat dinger to St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong on Monday — fans of the D.C. baseball team sought to commiserate in the Nationals' dedicated subreddit. But rather than debate the franchise's embattled managers, or its subpar relief pitching, or its general malaise, Nats fans turned to the great outdoors to ease their pain.
You see, while "the Nationals" tends to refer to the MLB team in the nation's capital, if you think creatively enough, it can really be shorthand for "the National( Park)s (of America)":
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Petition to turn this subreddit into a National Parks themed subreddit from r/Nationals
As Ringer writer Claire McNear noted Tuesday, depressed Nationals fans have been sharing gorgeous pictures from America's national parks in the subreddit, rather than remember how this ballclub was supposed to contend into October. There are also pleas to recognize underappreciated contributors and spirited discussions of hot topics, just like in any other good sports subreddit.
Nats fans aren't the first group to co-opt their own subreddit; devotees of the spiraling New York Mets did the same in June, which isn't exactly ideal company to keep. On the plus side, you can see some beautiful nature photos here.
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