Photo by one of my old BFF’s back in the day, Jessica Rice

File under things I didn’t expect to write about: during Taylor Swift‘s Red Tour 2013 show last night at Verizon Center (that did not create any Yanni-esque scheduling trouble trouble trouble), the 23-year-old pop singer gave the Washington Capitals a little shout out.

According to @Mic_Nas89, Swift said, “You ask yourself why is there so much red? Well one reason is because the Capitals are in the playoffs.”

And then she sang this.

And then Caps fans in the audience freaked out:

TAYLOR SWIFT JUST FUCKING TALKED ABOUT THE CAPITALS BEING IN THE PLAYOFFS ON STAGE IM DEAD THAT’S MY GIRL TALKING BOUT MY BOYS

— Emily Ward (@em_ward15) May 12, 2013

Taylor Swift acknowledging DC is RED this weekend for her tour and the Caps playoffs #shesthebest

— Carlie Andrews (@carlieandrews26) May 12, 2013

Taylor Swift talking about the Capitals in the playoffs! Killing it

— Scott Zolotorow (@szolotorow) May 12, 2013

@taylorswift13 just gave a shout out to the Capitals for being in the playoffs as she prepares to play the song Red. #hockeyfan#RocktheRed

— Ed Frankovic (@EdFrankovic) May 12, 2013

I’m still waiting for her to come clean that her song 22 is about former Cap Mike Knuble.

Next time, Taylor, throw on an Ovechkin jersey like Snoop Dogg did at my alma mater last year. You’ll make even more fans! Also, please marry me.

I love this tour. I love Washington DC crowds. I love that we get to play here tomorrow night too.

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) May 12, 2013

Back when we started this whole hockey-blogging folly, Twitter ran on steam and Internet video was reserved for senators and people who owned horses. Now it’s 2013, and my very funny friend Steven Freitas is livevlogging entire hockey games from his sweet-ass seats in Verizon Center. Using Vine, an app that grabs and publishes video in 6-second snippets, Freitas shared his POV of the Washington Capital’s tragic 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

It’s a totally novel and immersive way to share experiences, and if that is too buzzwordy for you, buckle up, because Vine is going to be shifting paradigms and leveraging user-generated content to create new vectors for lean-back, two-screen experiences. Yeah. I just did that.

Seriously: these videos are pretty cool, and while it’s a shame they come from a loss, I think you should check it out. It’ll only take you 42 seconds, but it’s a bit resource-intensive. And oh yeah: follow @SteveFreitas!

Anthem, “O!”, and “Red!”

Laich Hit Into the Boards

Brouwer Dumped Along the Boards

Goal Celebration

Aaaaaalmost

Unleashing the Fury

And Goodbye

There’s a lot more on Steve’s timeline, so go check it out.

Photo credit: @jessicamdick

You guuuuuuyssss. Ice is back at Verizon Center! On Wednesday afternoon, arena employees laid down the rink at Verizon Center, shaving the ice and dropping in lines and logos. I guess this whole hockey thing is really happening after all.

Check out photos below the jump.

Photo credit: @KimmyBecher

Photo credit: Washington Capitals Instagram

Time-Lapse Video

Feel free to get excited now. Yeah. Say it with me:  hahaha ice)))))))))

[Clydeorama.com]

* really?

(Photo credit: @clydeorama. Go check out Clyde’s site.)

Rituals bind us to one another. In a fan community, rituals take many forms. In the clothing we wear, the cheers we shout, the fives we high– that’s where togetherness happens. It’s like a wholesome mob mentality, and everyone’s allowed in the mob so long as they can do a couple simple things.

Problem is: sometimes those rituals get us into trouble. Some rituals become bad habits, and those bad habits have got to go. You know what I’m talking about: It’s all your fault, Who Cares?, RED!, and a certain nickname for Sidney Crosby. It’s not cool anymore. Let’s discuss.

“It’s all your fault”

Imagine a Capitals player scoring a goal. I ask you to use your imagination because my recent memory is coming up blank. To make it slightly easier, pretend it’s the Caps best goal-scorer Jason Chimera doing the deed. Once P.A. Announcer Wes Johnson growls out the scorer’s name, the red army typically berates the defeated goalie with a taunt of “it’s all your fault!”

There are three ways to categorize a goal: due to scorer skill, due to goalie error, or due to some combination of the two. When the crowd at Verizon Center says, “It’s all your fault!”, they’re also relieving the scorer of any responsibility for that goal. Jason Chimera worked hard for that goal, but you’re saying he got it just because the other guy was incompetent.

Instead: Don’t.

RED!

After witnessing the siege of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Frederick native Francis Scott Key wrote a poem that was later set to the tune of an old British drinking song.  ”The Star-Spangled Banner” became our national anthem a century later, and it’s been performed at sporting events since the 1950′s. The lyrics remind us that America’s very existence is owed to many valorous dead. In Chinatown, Caps fans memorialize America’s patriots by tunelessly shouting “Red!” during the “rocket’s red glare” line.

Beyond being rude to singer Caleb Green (who is too much of a pro to ever let it shake him), the shouting is dumb. And I say this as a purveyor of dumb things. It’s no more clever than guffawing whenever the number 69 appears. (Heh.) There are many ways to enjoy the national anthem, and all of them are valid so long as this is a nominally free country. But we can do better than this.

Instead: Sing it loud! Or stand silently. Or sit in quiet protest. In America it’s your call, but you don’t have to be a dick about it. (We’ll tackle the “O” thing another time.)

Who cares!

When the opposing team scores at Verizon Center, Wes has the solemn duty to read the scorer, assist, and time of goal. As soon as he finishes, the crowd shouts, “Who cares!”

For context, as of game 23 the Capitals are third-to-last in the league in goals against per game– averaging 3.22. We all care deeply that goals are being scored against our team. If not, we should.

Perhaps when the Caps are leading by 6 goals and Mathieu Perreault is taking his shifts in the cage just for a giggle, it’d be cool. But that’s not right now. Right now our team is fighting for every precious goal it can get, and every puck in our net is a minor tragedy. “Who cares” is false bravado at the wrong time. So….

Instead: Don’t.

Cindy Crysby

When fans discuss star players from other teams, character assassination is hard to avoid. That’s why we get Alex Semin is a diver, P.K Subban is a jerk, and I wouldn’t pee on Danny Briere if he were caked in napalm and I’ve been pounding Gatorades all day. But that stuff is kind of quaint. So too is calling Sidney Crosby a whiner. After all, thanks to 24/7, we’ve got incontrovertible video documentation of Sidney Crosby being a whiner.

Some fans call him Cindy Crysby. Crysby is a little obvious and punny, but I guess it’s fine. Cindy, on the other hand… Here’s why that’s a dick move. You see your sister, mother, girlfriend, wife, daughter sitting next to you? She heard that. And now she’s internalizing what you said– that being a girl is a bad thing. That women have no place in sports, regardless of what mindblowing stuff my 15-year-old cousin is doing on that blueline in Vermont. When you call him Cindy as an insult, you’re perpetuating that boys club nonsense, and it is keeping a pretty cool sport on the fringes.

Sidney Crosby is back,  but he’s still worth mocking. Not because he’s a little bitch and not because we wish serious injury upon him, but because he’s our opponent. We can find new and better ways to talk trash. For now, we’ll toe a fine line.

Instead: Create a poster like this:

But I’m not trying to be a downer; there’s a ton of good habits among Caps fans too. The 100% participation rate for “Unleash the Fury” is still inspiring, and we’ll always have The Horn Guy and Goat to get the crowd going. Maybe we could deal with a few “Crash! The! Net!” cheers and maybe a “ka-NOOOOOOO-ble” chant, but that stuff will come in time.

Verizon Center always explodes in applause for military folks. That’s fantastic. Since there ain’t no way I’m fighting, I’m happy to thank those who will and have. I suppose you guys feel the same. Right on.

Then there’s the rally balloon, an emerging and possibly fleeting trend of spurring a comeback by floating a creepy red balloon out over the ice. That one’s a bit mischievous, isn’t it? It’ll pass for now.

And then there’s my favorite: the D.C Hat Trick. We haven’t seen this one recently, and you may not know it at all, so I’ll explain. When a player scores two goals in regulation and then scores during the shootout, fans at Verizon Center lose their dang minds! It’s great! Even though that goal doesn’t really count at all, Caps fans throw hats on the ice and hoot and holler like history has just been made. This is awesome and should never stop.

Don’t ever change, D.C. We love you just the way you are. Except for, ya know, all the stuff I listed at the top. Change that right away.

Illustration by Ian Oland

Beyond the players, coaching staff and members of the organization, there’s no one more knowledgeable about the Washington Capitals than a season-ticket holder. You know, those lovely people who fill the phone booth to capacity every night in a sea of red jerseys. So when we wanted to get a fan’s perspective of how the Capitals and the in-game crew were performing during the playoffs, we knew exactly who we had to turn to: Caps Superfans William “Goat” Stilwell and Sam “The Horn Guy” Wolk.

Wednesday night, after the Capitals thrilling 2-1 overtime victory, I caught up with the two lovely gentlemen and asked them their thoughts on game one, the star performers, and game two tonight. Hopefully, this will be a recurring feature throughout the Capitals’ second season. Make sure to be nice and welcome them to RMNB in the comments below!

The Electric Atmosphere at Verizon Center

The Caps’ 2011 Playoff Intro via Twitter follower @r3volve. Give him a break he was holding a beer!

For a hockey fan, there’s rarely anything more exciting than your home team’s first game of the playoffs. As I can attest to, the crowd at the Verizon Center was electric Wednesday night. “Overall, everybody was ready to rock,” Goat said. “You could feel that. As soon as the lights went out, everybody was jacked. After the opening video started, everybody started to bounce a little bit.” Frankly, it was hard not to. The Capitals video crew came up with an epic video presentation which included quotes from other media and opposing players – such as Martin Brodeur – describing how tough it is to play at Verizon Center. As each quote went up, the building got progressively louder. When I asked Sam if there were any comparables, he said that, “the first period was as loud as I probably heard it there since Sergei Fedorov scored that series-winning goal against the Rangers in 2009.” Wow. That’s deafening. Andrew Gordon, who was watching the game from home in Hershey, summed it up best:

Alex Semin’s Strong Play

Who replaced Sasha Minor with this media-friendly alien from outer space? (Photo: Bruce Bennett)

Alex Semin had an assist and scored the overtime game-winning goal in game one. Pretty awesome, right? And if you can believe it, his two points Wednesday matched his entire output from last year’s seven-game series against the Canadiens (two assists). “I thought overall he had a good game,” Sam told me. “I was surprised. He landed some shoulder hits. He fought for the puck in the corners a little bit more than I’m accustomed to seeing. It was nice, because that’s not the kind of game you expect from Alexander Semin. If he can bring that the rest of series, I’ll be happy.” William elaborated on Sasha’s feistiness: “He gets a mean streak in the playoffs it seems. And when somebody takes a liberty here or there, he tends to get a little cranky. And that usually elevates his game.” What Semin isn’t cranky about suddenly is interviews. Over the past few days, you can’t turn your head without seeing an Alex Semin quote. Has our enigmatic left wing started to mature? Maybe. Semin still had an offensive-zone stick penalty in the first period. Though Goat believed that “he was a victim of circumstance. It was a little more of a hold. It was a… combined effort [with the Ranger player].”

Lil’ Mikey Neuvirth

Michal Neuvirth leads the Capitals out on to the ice. (Photo: Bruce Bennett)

You would have never been able to tell that Michal Neuvirth was making his NHL playoff debut in the crease. “All night, he was there when he needed to be,” Sam explained. Goat elaborated: “There were times this evening that I was sure it was over. There was the one shot in overtime where it was just a free and clear blast from about 12 feet away and he came up with that thing right in his gut. He had his glove hand working tonight, too. You know the one he snatched out of the air in the third period, he just reached out for it and said, ‘no.’ That was the thing that energized people.” With his solid, 24-save performance in game one, talk about the Czech splitting time with the Capitals 1b option in net, Semyon Varlamov, has stopped… for now. Neuvy’s performance was even so sublime that his name and likeness was literally everywhere during the NHL Network’s playoff coverage Thursday.

Alex Ovechkin’s Goal

The Senior Director of NHL Hockey Operations, Damian Echevarietta, explains why Ovi’s goal was allowed.

Really, we don’t have much to add here except one thing. Goat’s initial thoughts on the play were, “Aw, we’re going to get hosed on this.” Well said. Props to the NHL for actually getting the call right.

Looking Ahead to Game 2

Ovechkin and Backstrom celebrate the win. (Photo: Clyde Caplan, clydeorama.com)

The last thing I asked the two gentlemen before we departed was if they were looking forward to game two. “Now I definitely am,” Goat instantly replied. “We have the momentum now going into Friday,” Horn Guy added. “We have another home game. It’s going to be a raucous crowd.” William picked up the conversation from there: “And just the way this one ended. With that sweet setup to a wide-open Semin. To score a skill and power goal. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were tear-marks on Lundqvist’s equipment [from trying to make the save]. Joking aside, that dude did not deserve to be serenaded at any point tonight.” And Goat’s right. The Capitals missed the net or rung the puck off the post on a lot of golden opportunities. And when they didn’t, the King was equal to the task. It’s important to understand that the Capitals will have another tough test tonight. Can they arise to the occasion and take a commanding 2-0 series lead? We’ll see at 7:30pm.

From left to right: Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, D.J. King, Lil’ Wayne, Marcus Johansson, Mike Green, Drake and John Carlson

First it was Pauly D. Then it was Michael Vick. This past Friday, it was First Lady Michelle Obama. And tonight, Alex Ovechkin posted a photo of him and what seems like half of the team posing with Lil’ Wayne and Drake.

So naturally the question is:

All those that thought President Obama would attend a Caps game before physicists figure out how to teleport an object all the way across the galaxy, please step forward to claim your prize. Wait a minute, everyone, not so fast…

All hope is not lost. The Washington Post’s new Caps beat reporter Katie Carrera informed us that Barack Obama attended yesterday’s Washington Mystics game at the Verizon Center. Those of us here at Barack The Red were instantly filled with heartbreak.

Even comrade Dan Steinberg agreed:

Look, I’m all for the President of the country — whoever he or she is — supporting the D.C. teams of all sports and genders. But at this point it seems like he’s going out of his way to spite the Barack the Red movement…I mean, I love the D.C. Divas, but if Obama goes there before he attends a Caps game, I’m crying foul.

We’re not going to wait: FOUL!!

Say it with us: FOUL!!

Tweet it: It’s time to @barackthered President @BarackObama

See, it’s already working: Then on last night’s SportsNite, Lisa Hillary asked Ted Leonsis a few questions after he sat court-side with POTUS.

At then at the 2:30 mark, it happened:

Lisa Hillary – “We know the Washington Capitals are near and dear to your heart. Might we see [the president] at a game this fall?”

Ted Leonsis – “Yeah. He gave me some grief there. He said ‘I was planning on coming in the playoffs but you lost in the first round.’

Lisa Hillary – “Wuh oh.”

Ted Leonsis – “He did promise me he would come to a game next season.”

So can we consider Barack The Red a success? Not so fast, homeboy. Until we see Barack’s ass Presidential Seal in the Owner’s Box with our own two eyes, we shall be dubious of this claim – no matter how many peanut shells and popcorn kernels Ted picks up off the floor.

Additional Coverage: Ted’s Take, I Spy Things DC, NBC Washington