Today’s topic for what I like about Washington, DC is an easy choice – Sports.  Yes, I work and teach Sports in DC, but simply put, Washington, DC is a great Sports market.  I’m not saying DC is a great sports town that rabidly follow its teams with sell-outs every game.  But, it is a superb Sports town that has a wide array of Sports offerings.

Only a handful of other cities has as many professional and college teams .  In regard to professional teams, DC has the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, Nationals, Mystics, DC United and Kastles.  There’s also terrific college sports teams from Georgetown, Univ of Maryland, American U, GWU, George Mason, Howard, etc.  And, there’s minor league baseball in Prince William County and Bowie, MD.

But, that’s not all – there are also a number of leading agencies and associations, including Octagon, NFLPA, USOC, NCAA, etc.   There’s also the sports media businesses, including Washington Post Sports, Comcast SportsNet, USA Today Sports, AOL Sports, SportsBlogNation, etc.

The youth league systems in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County are among the best in the country.  Baseball, soccer, lacrosse, swimming and more.

In regard to venues, FedEx is the 2nd largest NFL stadium, Verizon Center is terrific (especially during sold-out Caps games) and Nationals Park is a dream come true for those of us that went without baseball for so long.   Yes, there’s need for a new soccer venue – and hopefully this will be resolved soon.

And, of course, we have the best sports management program in the country … Georgetown University’s “Sports Industry Management” program.  🙂

There’s something for everyone in DC … from participants to spectators to marketers.  I am proud to call Washington, DC one of the best sports markets in the country.