Two Games, Four Outcomes, One City

The landscape of the Washington DC sports scene hangs in the balance going into Monday night. It will either be a day survival or a night of horror for DC sports fans. The Washington Nationals will face the San Francisco Giants in game three of the NLDS, trailing 2-0 in the best-of-five series. In a win or go home situation for the World Series favorites, it will be an emotional game for fans and players alike. Washingtonians will have their remotes working hard as the Redskins take on the defending Super Bowl Champion, Seattle Seahawks in a game that will make or break their year. With a win, the Redskins will gain the confidence needed to break out of the slump they are in, and hopefully propel them to a solid season. With a loss, the team will be 1-4 and sitting in the familiar basement of the NFC East. I'll break down the possible outcomes and their meanings.

Both teams win: If there is a miracle and both teams win, that would keep the Nationals alive in their series and hopefully give them the confidence they have played with all season long. The Nationals have been the best team in baseball for 162 games, but these last two they have looked out of place. A win would get them back on track to possibly stage a comeback. A Redskins win seems the most unlikely of the two but if Kirk Cousins can throw to his own team this time, it could happen. A win would put the team at 2-3 with a decent shot at making a solid record this year. If both teams pull off victories, DC will be buzzing with talks of Nats making a comeback and the Skins running the table from here on out.

Nats win; Skins lose: If the Nationals win then the series moves to game 4 and fans can hope a little harder for a comeback. If the Skins lose, they are saved by the Nationals win, therefore the media will focus less on the horrible 1-4 start. The buzz surrounding the Nationals series will grow and the Skins will just slip into the realm of disappointment that we are used to.

Nats lose; Skins win: A very bright season comes crashing down in a playoff sweep, manager Matt Williams gets interrogated as to why he pulled Jordan Zimmerman in game 2. The Nationals hold up the DC precedent of playoff collapses and fans get increasingly frustrated. There is a sense of "bittersweetness" in DC as the Nationals fall, the Redskins take down the champs and the season has a new outlook.

Both teams lose: This would be the worst possible outcome, no fan wants to have to suffer through this one. In Washington DC, we are far too accustomed to this kind of thing happening, and at this point it just seems like this is bound to happen. If the Nationals get knocked out and the Skins fall to 1-4 within hours of each other, it will be a very sad Tuesday in the nation's capital. Fans will be furious, sports talk shows will try to attack every angle of what went wrong, and why it always happens to us.

The optimist in me believes that both teams can win tomorrow; but we've seen this movie plenty of times to know that a lose-lose is seemingly destined to happen. It will either be an agonizing night of television, or a realization that this area has teams that can actually win when it matters. No matter what the outcome, at least DC United are in first.