A Caps Fan Pays Tribute To Abe Pollin
- Tuesday, November 24, 2009 10:25 PM
- Written By: Josh Marks
Saturday night as I sat in a bar at the Verizon Center that Abe Pollin, who died Tuesday at 85, built, and watched the professional hockey team on TV that Pollin founded, and as I sat with my parents who are reliving the city life of their Chicago youth in a condo located in an area of Washington, D.C. that was once as dangerous as Afghanistan but is now the Times Square of our nation's capital, all thanks to Pollin, it hit me that this kind and generous man has touched my life in such a positive way and countless others as well.
Little was I to know that Mr. Pollin would pass a few days later on the day his beloved Wizards were to play the 76ers at The Phone Booth.
When I learned of Pollin's passing today my initial reaction was as if my own grandfather had died. For Pollin had so much influence on the lives of those connected to Washington, D.C. that he felt like everyone's grandfather.
Yes, he was criticized at times for putting loyalty above winning, but his legacy will be nothing less than the transformation of the most powerful city in the world.
This reminder was everywhere this misty, cool fall evening as I left my parent's condo, which again they would not have been living in if Pollin didn't decide to build the Verizon Center in a rundown part of D.C.
As we walked by the sleek new office buildings, stylish restaurants, upscale hotels and condos, lively bars, and the new convention center, they were all vivid reminders of the economic floodgates Pollin helped open over 10 years ago.
And to see the beehive of activity in Gallery Place-Chinatown is the ultimate testament to Pollin's lasting legacy.
As the Verizon Center crowd exited the arena following a Wizards win, a picture of Abe Pollin was displayed on the big screen at F St. and Abe Pollin Way.
At that moment I wanted to simply say thank you.
So here it is -- thank you, Abe Pollin for the Washington Capitals, for making downtown D.C. the place to be, for strengthening my relationship with my father and his wife, and for exemplifying Hope and Yes We Can long before another visionary became a resident of Washington.
