I found a great interview courtesy of the New York Times with David Gregory, who of course is the new moderator of Meet the Press, and his found passion for the Washington Capitals and hockey in general...here is the interview:
30 Seconds With David Gregory, Newly Minted Capitals Fan
By JOSHUA ROBINSON After a decade of covering Washington and almost five months as host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” David Gregory knows his way around the capital. But more recently, with the help of his 6-year-old son, Max, Gregory is getting to know the Washington Capitals, who are in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is a pleasant distraction, he said, from the daily talk of bailouts, lobbyists and Supreme Court justices.
Q: How did you come to be a Capitals fan?
Gregory: I have to be totally honest about this. I’m from Los Angeles, what do I know about hockey? But I have a 6-year-old boy who has become a fanatic. I mean, the Caps have been great the last couple of years and it’s been so fun to watch, but he has really led me into this. I remember seeing Gretzky with the Kings growing up in L.A. So I was into it a little bit, but nothing like now. Just to hear my boy rattle off these guys’ names and get so excited.
He was watching the other night when they won Game 7. He was dancing around and he said, ‘You know, I could cry.’ So he’s into, I’m into it. It’s a lot of fun.
The other thing that cracks me up is that my son is learning about this and learning all these Russian names. He’s rattling off all these names and mangling the pronunciation, but really being into it. My mother came into town yesterday and the whole ride back from the airport, he’s going down the lines, like ‘Yeah, Brashear’s the enforcer, he fights all the time.’
Q: What do you do to keep up with your son?
Gregory: I watch, I go, I try to learn. I have a couple of buddies that I go with who know a lot more about it than I do. And I’ve picked it up. I have to say, seeing hockey in person is awesome. I have an appreciation for the explosiveness and speed and control of Ovechkin. It’s something that I almost immediately identified and have been able to appreciate.
I also think the experience of being at a Caps game is great. The fans are great. It can get a little rough around the edges when you’ve got kids there, but not as bad as football.
Q: That’s what a lot of people say once they actually go to a game. did it change your perspective at all?
Gregory: I actually liked watching it on TV — I think H.D. helps a lot. But yeah, we’re watching it on TV, we’re going in person, and I’m actually trying to get clearance from my wife to see if we can go on Monday.
Q: There’s never been a better time to be a hockey fan in D.C., right?
Gregory: No better time. When you’ve got a guy like Ovechkin. There’s a lot of upfront stars between Semin and Green, it’s a great group. But Ovechkin, even to somebody like me who doesn’t know the sport very well, it doesn’t take long to appreciate his skill and his artistry on the ice. It’s no mystery why this guy has caught the imagination of so many people.
Q: If hockey is a new passion for you, what did you watch before?
Gregory: I’m a big baseball fan. I grew up in L.A. as a big Dodger fan — still a big Dodger fan. I love my Nationals as well and we have seats. We go out there all the time. Baseball has always been my thing.
Q: It must easier to watch the Capitals than the Nationals these days.
Gregory: Well, they’re in rebuilding mode, but they’re still fun to watch. But the other day I said, ‘Son, do you want to go to the baseball game?’ And he just said back, ‘Dad, that’s really nice, but the Caps are going to be on.’ So of course, we figured out a way to keep an eye on the Caps at the baseball game.
Q: Do you ever think how life might be different if Sunday mornings you were hosting “Meet the N.H.L.?”
Gregory: Life would be very different. I don’t think I’d be qualified for that. You know, it is fun, and I’ve had a little more occasion to talk analytically about sports. And it’s great, I don’t have to worry about being down the middle about that. I can be a fan, I can be totally partisan about sports and nobody’s going to say a thing. It’s very, very liberating. In a time when there’s so much going on in the country and there are such big problems, it’s great to worry about sports.
Q: Just how much do you worry?
Gregory: When I was a kid, I used to really worry about Steve Garvey and how well he did. And that would be a source of some stress or distress or happiness throughout the day. But now I can’t be sent into a tailspin if a team loses. For me, it’s at the point of just being a terrific distraction.
Q: Do you see any parallels between the sports you follow and the politics you cover?
Gregory: You know, in politics and in sports, we tend to be drawn to personalities, drawn to the people. That’s what we find most animating. And you have these outsize personalities that sort of transcend the teams.
Q: Political coverage is so infused with sports jargon. Why is that?
Gregory: First of all, so many people who cover politics also really like sports. And the infrastructure of electoral politics is so much like sports: you’ve got different sides, superstars and standout personalities. And what’s the difference between running a political campaign and making the starting lineup for a baseball team? You start calibrating your message differently, you start shifting up your batting order.
Q: And what’s election night but the championship game? One winner, one loser and a score.
Gregory: Exactly. That’s the big night from all the angles.
