If you've been reading Redskins Blog today, than you know a lot more about Larry Johnson than you did this morning. Matt Terl spent today explaining the new Redskin's place in the greater DC sports scene. What we learned is that Larry Johnson knows a surprising amount about DC sports history, and is genuinely excited to be a part of its future.
Larry Johnson grew up in the DC area, and when he was recently asked about cheering for the Nationals, his response showed that he was clearly paying attention.
"Nah," he said, "I don't bandwagon like that. I remember when they were the Senators, though, way back in the day."
I know that Johnson is a student of sports history, but remembering a baseball team that ceased to exist eight years before he was even born seemed ... unlikely, to say the least.
So, maybe Johnson won't be cheering for the Nationals, but he does have a pretty good excuse why not. Check out what he had to say about John Wall and the Wizards after the jump.
Johnson sounded much more enthusiastic when he was asked about who he thinks the Wizards will select with the first overall pick in the draft later this month.
"I think it's gonna be Wall," he told me. "I hope so. It would go well with the momentum and the feeling and the mood of trying to pick the organization up to move on to better things. I think that's the best pick."
And would you go check out a game?
"Definitely," Johnson said. "I'm gonna get me some courtside seats, if I can get some."
It probably wouldn't have been to hard for Larry Johnson to get court side seats to the Wizards this year, but his concern over their availability for next season lets you know how excited this city is to see John Wall at the Verizon Center 41 times a year. But Johnson thinks the city is looking forward to more than just Wizards basketball next season.
"This year's exciting for D.C. in general, whether you're a Redskins or a Wizards fan. The basketball team was just so down for a couple of years, and it makes you feel good when you have young talent coming in like that, like Wall...With Donovan and all the guys that we're bringing in here," Johnson said, "it feels like an excitement's in the air for when the season comes back around."
Johnson is right, with so much room for improvement, and the additions of players who can help their teams make those leaps quickly, its a good time to start feeling good about DC sports again.