Sports in Washington, D.C.

The NFL's Washington Commanders were among the most successful professional sports teams in North America throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, making four Super Bowl appearances and winning three in a ten-year period ending in 1992.

Following the WUSA's demise, the team continued as an associate member of the W-League, playing their home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown.

Washington is home to an original Major League Soccer (MLS) club, D.C. United, which began play at RFK Stadium in 1996.

D.C. United's 1997 MLS Cup victory at RFK Stadium was the only time a Washington team has won a championship within the District.

Northwest Stadium has also hosted several prominent soccer games, including six matches in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.

In July 2011, a match between Manchester United and Barcelona at Northwest Stadium (then called FedExField) drew a crowd of 81,807, a record soccer attendance for the D.C. metropolitan area.

[11] On October 29, 2022, Audi Field hosted the 2022 NWSL Championship game between the Portland Thorns FC and the Kansas City Current.

Upon arriving in Washington, the team found immediate success, winning the 1937 NFL Championship over the Chicago Bears, with a final score of 28-21.

The Redskins were led by Sammy Baugh, who is widely considered to be one of the best and most important football players in the early years of the NFL.

[14] In addition to Harris, the group has 20 limited partners worth a combined $100 billion, including Danaher founder and art collector Mitchell Rales, Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, 76ers and Devils co-owner David Blitzer, venture capitalist and Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein, Maverick Capital founder Lee Ainslie, Blue Owl Capital founders Marc Lipschultz and Doug Ostrover, financier Alejandro Santo Domingo and his family, ProShares founder Michael Sapir, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Cambridge Information Group CEO Andy Snyder.

Eventually, baseball's owners, burdened with a poorly performing Montreal franchise, were convinced to move the team to Washington with the promise of a brand new stadium fully financed by the D.C. government.

On December 2, 1973, the NBA's Baltimore Bullets moved to the Washington area and played their first home game at the newly built Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.

In 1995, team owner Abe Pollin announced the Bullets would change their name out of sensitivity to the high rate of gun violence in Washington, D.C.

Following the departure of star players like Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, the Wizards finished with the 5th worst record in the 2009-10 NBA season.

In 1998, soon after the opening of the new MCI Center, an expansion team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Washington Mystics, began playing their home games there.

On June 7, 2018, the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Among the most important members of this team were Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, goalie Braden Holtby, defensman John Carlson, and center Nicklas Backstrom.

Four Capitals players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Mike Gartner, Rod Langway, Larry Murphy, and Scott Stevens.

The Kastles won the second match of the season to set a new record of 34 straight wins by a top-tier professional sports team.

The wider Washington region has hosted multiple professional golf tournaments, including men's and women's majors.

Capital One Arena has hosted Backlash in 2000, SummerSlam in 2005, Cyber Sunday in 2007, Survivor Series in 2009, Capitol Punishment in 2011, and Battleground in 2016.

Several NBA players got their start playing for Georgetown including Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, and Reggie Williams.

Capital One Arena has hosted games in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament numerous times over the years.

[27] The 2005–06 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team from neighboring Fairfax, Virginia advanced to the Final Four in the Washington, D.C. region of the NCAA bracket, and played their sweet sixteen and elite eight games at Capital One Arena in 2006.

Capital One Arena also hosted the 2009 "Frozen Four," the final two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland has served as a neutral site for numerous college football games over the years.

[28] They're called the Washington Freedom and they became the 2024 MLC champions by winning the 2024 Major League Cricket final over the San Francisco Unicorns by a 96 run deficit.

The Washington, D.C. area has been home to numerous rugby union teams, including men's, women's, college and high school.

Washington, D.C. is also home to nationally televised sports shows, including the midnight edition of ESPN's SportsCenter, hosted by Scott Van Pelt, as well as ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, hosted by former Washington Post columnists Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser.

The Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals of the NHL both played in the Patrick Division during the 1980s and early 1990s, during which time the rivalry was extremely intense.