OPINION:
This may be hard to believe, based on the poor play by most local professional sports teams for much of the year, but 2025 was one of the most significant years in Washington sports history.
Among the five biggest stories of the year, only two of them were connected to accomplishment on the field of play — or, as the case may be, the ice.
No, the biggest sports stories in Washington this year took place in offices and legislative chambers.
Starting at the top: The Washington Commanders are returning home.
After the football team left the city in 1996 to move into the new Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in suburban Maryland, District officials made a deal with the Commanders to move into a new $3.8 billion stadium at the old RFK Stadium site in 2030, when construction is expected to be completed.
This was the biggest Washington sports story since baseball returned to the city in 2005 – yes, bigger than the Capitals’ Stanley Cup championship in 2018 and the Nationals World Series title the following year.
The return of the Washington football team to the District will reverberate for decades.
The initial dramatic vote took place in July, when, after debate and discussion, the city council voted 9-3 to approve plans for the new stadium, which included $1.1 billion in District funds for the project. A month later, the council followed up with final approval.
“This is a historic moment,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said. “This project is about more than delivering a world-class stadium worthy of our players, fans and the region. It’s about revitalizing a critical part of our city, creating thousands of jobs and unlocking long-term economic benefits for the District.”
Second on the list (but second to none): Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s NHL all-time goal-scoring record.
The Washington Capitals’ 39-year-old superstar broke Gretzky’s record by scoring his 895th career goal on April 6 on the road against the New York Islanders on a power play. He belly flopped onto the ice as thousands of fans around him cheered and chanted, “Ovi! Ovi!” while teammates surrounded him.
“I’m really proud for myself,” Ovechkin told reporters after the game. “I’m really proud for my family, for all my teammates that help me to reach that milestone and for all my coaches. It’s huge. It’s unbelievable. It’s an unbelievable moment, and I’m happy.”
A few days later, when Ovechkin came home, there was a celebration of the record-breaking event in the District.
This was the hockey equivalent of breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run mark in baseball. Ovechkin will go down in history as one of the game’s all-time greats.
At No. 3, the NFL draft comes to town: The NFL draft has become one of the major events in sports, with cities vying for a chance to host it. Green Bay hosted it in 2025, and it drew more than 600,000 fans. The year before, Detroit hosted the draft, with a reported crowd of 750,000.
The news that Washington will host the 2027 draft was announced by President Trump at the White House.
The firings of Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez: The Washington Nationals, wallowing in last place in the National League East with a 37-53 record on July 5 and on their way to a sixth-straight losing season, fired long-time general manager Mike Rizzo and World Series championship manager Dave Martinez.
Rizzo had been with the franchise since the Lerners took over the team in 2006. He was named general manager in 2009 and later promoted to president of baseball operations. He went on to lead the franchise to four National League East titles, one Wild Card and the 2019 World Series championship. The Nationals won the fourth-most games of any team in baseball in the 2010s. Martinez was the manager who turned around a 19-31 team in 2019 to a World Series title.
“On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city,” principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement.
It was the Lerners, though, and their lack of financial commitment to the franchise that led to the six straight losing seasons. They didn’t fire Rizzo for those losses, though. They fired Rizzo because he refused to follow their order to fire Martinez.
At No. 5, the Commanders’ playoff run: I know the Commanders’ playoff run with victories on the road over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions behind rookie quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels was part of the 2024 NFL season. Believe me, I remember the furor over the Commanders’ 2022 team crest when they credited the franchise’s three Super Bowl titles to 1983, 1988 and 1992, instead of commemorating the seasons they were connected to — 1982, 1987 and 1991.
But I don’t conduct business by the NFL calendar. I used the Gregorian one, and the fact is that the month of January in 2025 consisted of Washington’s 23-20 victory over Tampa on Jan. 12, their 45-31 win over the Lions and finally their NFC championship game appearance, a 55-23 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles.
There have been so few great Washington football stories in this century that this playoff run can be celebrated over two years.
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