We’re telling the stories of fans who dare to be different
Most sports fans, we can agree, cheer for the so-called traditional teams — the Leafs, Canadiens and Red Wings, Steelers, Cowboys and Packers, and Lakers, Celtics and, certainly, the Raptors. In baseball, the Blue Jays are big in Canada, but so are the Yankees and Red Sox.
But there are fans out there — granted, not many — who support teams that are perhaps not so popular.
We’re telling their story, about how and why they started cheering for — and remain fans of — the Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks (before they became good), Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Kings (see Seattle Seahawks) and Washington Capitals.
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Dowden's fondness for the Capitals dates all the way back to the 1974-75 hockey season, when a pair of Newfoundlanders dressed for Washington.
Corner Brook defenceman Joe Lundrigan made only three appearances for the Caps, but forward Tony White of Grand Falls would play two full seasons in Washington after breaking in in ’74-75.
In 1975-76, White scored 25 goals for the Caps, second on the team only to Nelson Pyatt’s 26.
“That was it for me,” said Dowden, from St. John’s. “To have two Newfoundlanders playing on an NHL team in one season at that time was amazing.
“Then things really accelerated for me in 1990 when the boy from Merrymeeting Rd. (John Slaney) got drafted in the first round (ninth overall) by Washington.”
Dowden points out there’s another Newfoundland connection on the current crop of Capitals. Forward Brett Connolly’s parents are from St. George’s, on the province’s west coast.
A glance inside Dowden’s ‘Man Cave’ tells you all you need to know. There’s Capitals’ stuff everywhere, including game-worn equipment such as Ovechkin’s gloves and helmets.
He has umpteen jerseys — most of them signed — including sweaters worn by players who skated for Washington’s farms teams in the minors, in Hershey and Portland.
He admits Ovechkin is a genuine superstar, but Dowden’s favourite Cap is Peter Bondra, a two-time 50-goal scorer.
“I just liked his finesse and the way he played the game,” Dowden says.
Being a Caps fan means Dowden’s had plenty of disappointments.
There were the awful teams in the 70s, and the teams that finished out of the playoffs four out of five years in the early part of the current decade.
Last year, Dowden said, really hurt. The Caps were knocked out in the second round of the post season after rolling through the regular season first overall.
“That was the most difficult one,” Dowden said. “I thought we had the team to do it. I don’t know what it is. But we’ve got a good team this year, nearly in first place again.”
Dowden’s seen many games in Washington — including an outdoor game in 2015 — and his favourite memory is meeting team owner Ted Leonsis a few years back.
“My daughter (Emily) and I were walking around concourse and I saw him coming out of his suite, going to the ATM machine. I said to my daughter, ‘I’m going over to talk to him.’
“Off I went. I introduced myself, and told him where I was from. A couple of guys came over and wanted a picture taken with him. He said, ‘No problem, but you have to take off those (New Jersey Devils) jerseys!
“He said to me, ‘Tell these guys where you’re from.’ I said, ‘St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.’
“Then he said, ‘You and your daughter come with me. He took us into his suite, introduced me to his son, Zachary, and others in there. We stayed for a bit.
“It was a pretty neat experience.”
Dowden admits hockey fans do a double take when they see him decked out in his Washington Capitals ball cap and jacket, but he’s used to it now.
“They all say, ‘You’re the only original one I know of.’ Sure, you have the kids coming on board these days because of Ovechkin, but I’m old school, an original, a die hard.”
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