Dear Washington Post,
I am a longtime reader. I subscribe to the Sunday section and have it delivered to my home on weekends. I get the coupons/ads I can use, plus I can peruse the paper all week long without the 20 story/month limitation. I'm cool with that.
What I have a problem with, is the content of the newspaper. Now I typically check out the main cover page, metro section and other areas to find out what's going on in the world and in the DMV, but I am an avid sports fan. I read the sports section every day.
The issue in the content lies in the varying stories reported in main sections of the sports page. If you look on the Wizards/NBA page today, currently there is a picture linked to a story about LeBron James degressing as an NBA player. There are a total of eight story headlines in reference to him, his team, etc. This is not including the story posted last week previewing the matchup with the Wizards.
Conversely, if you look at the Redskins/NFL page, there are a total of nine articles mentioning or referencing Robert Griffin, III. The big difference here, RGIII is the franchise quarterback for the team in this area.
As a reader, I don't want to go to the Wizards page and see LeBron plastered all over it. He doesn't play here... as a matter of fact he's at least a 10-12 hour drive away. Then when he came here to play, they got blasted. In case you all have not noticed, we actually have a very good basketball team. Right here. In DC. Why do I need to read eight stories about LeBron???? Why isn't John Wall's pic on the front page? If he pushed hard enough, he would have posted a quadruple double Friday night. Guess that's not as important as LeBron not playing up to his past success.
I know it's your job to post the hottest story lines to keep people informed, but how is a story about someone who does not play here outweigh the success of our own home team who in the past had not played well? It makes me think that the beat reporters and story writers for the Wizards are a group of King James Stans that have to be heard.
Now granted, there are many people who have denounced our local sports teams because of their poor performance. But then when they do well, is this the type of support you expect to see? If I were a resident of a different area, I would think it looks as though the people in DC don't even care about their own team. Which isn't the case... especially if you've been to the Verizon Center recently. The place stays sold out these days.
I know that WaPo is an internationally read paper. But I'm a Washingtonian. I was born and raised here. I remember going to Redskins games as a kid with my dad and seeing the rocking bleachers and feeling the swirling, blistering winds in RFK. I still have Bullets gear. I remember the vote on the new team name and I still don't like the choice (which is why I still refer to them as the Bullets). My family is still a family of Georgetown season ticket holders. I've been rocking the red since I was a kid, changed to that funky teal color when the logo changed, and now back to red. Though when I grew up there was no baseball in DC and we watched the Birds, I support the Nats. I still follow sports at Eleanor Roosevelt through the Post because it's my alma mater.
So when I go to WashingtonPost.com, I want to feel like I'm reading MY newspaper. From MY hometown. Not someone else's.
Hail to the Redskins, Let's Go Caps, hats off to the curly Ws, Go Raiders, and oh yeah, Go Bullets.
Follow Me on Twitter: @NFLHustleMama
