STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Next, we have reaction from Washington, D.C., to the World Series win by the Washington Nationals - they defeated the Houston Astros in seven games. Here's NPR's Rachel Martin.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Woo (ph), go Nats. Go Nats. Woo, woo, woo, woo.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) Comprehensive coverage, really, from Washington resident Rachel Martin. But WAMU's Barbara Sprunt has a little more.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: We just won the World Series.
(CHEERING)
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: You almost wouldn't believe that game seven of the World Series was played more than a thousand miles away from Washington, D.C., because more than 16,000 Nationals fans were in the city's ballpark to watch the game on the stadium's jumbotron. Fans braved a rainy night decked out in ponchos and Nats gear reacting as though players were right in front of them - cheering...
(CHEERING)
SPRUNT: ...Booing the umpires...
(SOUNDBITE OF BOOING)
SPRUNT: ...And offering encouragement.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: You got this, baby. Come on.
SPRUNT: The game started out slow for the D.C. team, but the tide turned in the seventh inning when Washington exploded with two home runs and an RBI. With that, the momentum shifted. The final score was 6 to 2. Some fans in the stadium sank to their knees in happiness. There was dancing, singing, tears.
DEBRA HOTZ-HOWER: I mean, I'm crying. They are so awesome. I feel to the moon, to the moon. I just - it's wonderful. They work together. They are No. 1.
SPRUNT: That's Debra Hotz-Hower. She came with her husband, Scott.
SCOTT: Amazing time. Amazing time. Unbelievable. We're here tonight because we thought we were going to win. We have come from behind. This team knows how to win and do it with fun.
SPRUNT: Ethan Palmer has been a fan of the Nats for almost 10 years.
ETHAN PALMER: I mean, it's been crazy. Like, they started off so poorly, and then to see the run that they made. Baseball is my sport, so to see the Nats win, it's just - it's unbelievable.
SPRUNT: Michael Graham came to the watch party with his 15-year-old son Quin.
MICHAEL GRAHAM: Got a 2005 baseball when they first came here, and to have it finish after 14 years with a World Series is something we've been waiting for a long time.
SPRUNT: The Nats have played in D.C. since 2005 following their incarnation as the Montreal Expos. This is the first World Series title for a D.C. team since the Washington Senators won it back in 1924.
For NPR News, I'm Barbara Sprunt in Washington.
(SOUNDBITE OF TOTORRO'S "MOTTE-ROCK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
