‘Round these parts the “weekend” is just ending, so here still on Wednesday I’m reveling in what was a great few days for D.C. sports. Sunday evening, hours before my hometown NFL team–that would be the Washington Commanders–pulled off an improbably victory against Philadelphia, my hometown NWSL team–that would be the Washington Spirit–pulled off an expected victory against the Chicago Stars. Expected because, well, unlike the Commanders, the Spirit are good.

And yeah, spirit in a broad sense was alive and well at Audi Field, home of both men’s and women’s professional soccer in the DMV. The venue is in the same neighborhood as Nationals Park, and I’ll note that the atmosphere Sunday evening eclipsed anything I’d ever seen for baseball. Having a winning team helps (take note, men’s teams), as my local women’s teams for soccer and basketball have overshadowed those of the United and Wizards. (To be fair the Wiz are just now beginning, but their recent track record makes me nervous.) In general my metric for “enthusiasm” is ticket prices, and I did note that this week it was cheaper to see a United game than its Spirit counterpart. (Funny that even a cheapskate like me went for the expensive one.) Like the Mystics, are they victims of their own success? From the team’s perspective I guess you’ve got to say job well done.

Spirit’s first playoff game is this Sunday and, for better or worse, once again they’re fighting for attention with those on the gridiron.

I’ve got much more confidence in the Spirit.