WASHINGTON — As the Washington Capitals celebrate 50 years people are excited and sharing their personal stories of how they become proud fans of this team.
Saturday afternoon started with a special red carpet event along F Street where you could see a sea of red as fans gathered around. The 50th anniversary of the team was celebrated outside Capital One Arena for the team’s opening night as they hosted the New Jersey Devils.
Loud cheers from fans echoed through the street as players and CEO Ted Leonsis made an appearance. Now the players and organization is thanking the fan base that has rallied around them for so long.
“I love this team, it’s a family tradition,” Caps fan Maeve Drury said. “This is my dad and they mean the world to us.”
It’s the passion and pride for the home team that brings this daughter and father closer together.
“It took one game, I took my son and my daughter and then it just took off,” Maeve's father, Michael Drury, said. “Mainly my daughter here.”
His son cheers them on as he serves in the US Airforce. Meanwhile the rest of the family shares fond memories outside the arena as they honor this team and organization for 5 decades.
“I love it here,” Michael Drury said. “We won a Stanley cup, it’s the greatest team in America and we love the capitals. Go Caps.”
“I’ve been a capitals fan for 10 years,” Maeve Drury said. “Since I was thirteen and it’s just super crazy to be here for the 50th anniversary.”
The love of this sport has families following the Caps one puck at a time.
“We’ve been supporting for years and years and that our kids have been raised supporting and watching since they were born,” longtime fan, Brittany Dixon said.
Eight-year-old Hunter Dixon spent his birthday with the Caps to celebrate twice as hard, telling WUSA9 he loved getting to see the players and getting autographs.
“It’s really awesome to be able to share it with them and them to enjoy it and be excited about it,” Hunter's mother, Brittany Dixon, said.
The stories for many of the fans go back to the 1970s.
“I actually went to the games when I was like 8 years old that first year in 1976 and been a Caps fan ever since,” long-time fan Ellen Romola said.
The team and organization have noticed and thank them for the ride thus far.
“The support here is unbelievable and you see how crazy these fans are and it’s a lot of fun,” Washington Capitals Right Wing Sonny Milano said.
“Everything starts with the fans' loyalty and passion, and we’ve been very, very fortunate for the last 25 years and have one of the greatest organizations in sports, certainly in the NHL and our commitment is to do it for the next 25 years,” Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis said. “We’re really lucky, we have the best fan base in North America and couldn’t be happier, more touched and more pleased.”
“It’s just amazing and it shows how great the city is and how much support that have even when they haven’t done well,” Romola said.
If you missed the opening night no worries, there are plenty of other events coming up to celebrate 50 years of the Capitals.