Over the last decade or so, the sports franchises of Washington DC have become a running joke in the sports world. Certain teams have experienced small runs of success in the past, such as the Washington Wizards run of playoff berths from 2004-2007 or the Capitals playoff appearance streak from 2007-2012. However, neither team has experienced anything close to a league championship run, never even appearing in a conference championship series, not since 1978 when the then-named Washington Bullets won the NBA Finals. And yet, until late, these two teams were the closest things that fans of the DC sports scene would be able to take pride in as the Washington Redskins have been a constant source of losing with new coaching staffs coming in almost every other year while the Washington Nationals enjoyed their first year of existence in 2005 but did not experience a winning season until 2012. Unfortunately, losing does not sum up the whole ordeal. The city and its’ fans have had to suffer through a myriad of player, coach, and owner drama, causing losses even when the teams were not playing. From the Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas being suspended for an entire season because of a firearm scandal to the Redskins’ breaking the bank to sign vaunted free agent Albert Haynesworth, only to find out that Haynesworth would not put in 100% effort for the team, it is easy to see why the Big Four of Washington DC have been a source of comedic inspiration for other cities across the nation.

Despite the constant stream of losing, both on and off the field, fans of the District’s key foursome have been able to experience an almost contagious sense of optimism in 2015. Right now, both the Washington Wizards and the Capitals are battling in the second round of their respective playoff series, desperately striving to get the monkey off of their backs and advance to the conference finals. The Wizards have a pair of shining stars in the NBA, point guard John Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal, who are remarkable not just for their exceptional talent, but for their leadership, their maturity, and arguably most importantly, their youth. Both Wall and Beal were drafted by the Wizards and have never played a minute of basketball for any other National Basketball Association team. The 2015 season marks only their fifth and third seasons in the league for Wall and Beal, respectively. Regardless of their age, the duo, affectionately nicknamed the “House of Guards,” have become the de facto leaders of both the present and future Wizards and much to the relief of their fans, have run into no off-the-field troubles. Meanwhile, the Capitals’ have experienced success with a solid team led by their ever-present pillar of support, captain Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals have not experienced destitute times to the same effect as the Wizards, but they have grown stagnant. It has been almost expected for the Caps to make the National Hockey League playoffs and get themselves eliminated almost immediately. In terms of this 2015 season, though, Caps faithful know that there seems to be a different aura about this team: they look confident and ready to take that next step and advance beyond the second round. Outside of the Capitals’ and Wizards’ home turf, DC’s Verizon Center, the Washington Nationals have rapidly grown into one of Major League Baseball’s most popular franchises with appealing headliners such as athletic phenomenon Bryce Harper and a heralded free agent signing in pitching, ace Max Scherzer. The Nationals look to have mounds of potential and were widely picked by analysts across the sports world as the MLB favorites to win the 2015 World Series. And lastly, only a short drive away towards Landover, Maryland, one can find the Washington Redskins. As Washington DC’s representative in America’s most popular sport, the Redskins have been something of a disappointment under owner Dan Snyder with only a brief respite coming in 2012 under the shocking arrival of electrifying quarterback Robert Griffin III. Alas, the Redskins quickly fell back towards the bottom of the barrel in the National Football League, experiencing painful losing seasons in both 2013 and 2014 while Griffin’s status as the Redskins’ saving grace is anything but certain. However, there is a ray of hope shining out of Landover, giving supporters a reason to dream. New Redskins’ General Manager Scot McCloughan is determined to build the team in an entirely new direction, the same one he took with the San Francisco 49’ers in order to turn them into the winners they have become.

It is entirely possible that the Wizards and Capitals will fall apart and are swiftly cast out of their playoff races, that the Nationals will collapse under the weight of the lofty expectations that have been placed upon them, and that the Redskins’ new GM will be found to be a one-trick pony as he fails to build a winning team. It’s feasible that each team could return to its disappointing ways, crushing the souls of all of their loving fans. On the other hand, though, for the first time in forever, the average member of the District’s sporting faithful has a valid excuse to be optimistic, and not just for a single team. From John Wall to Bryce Harper, Washington DC finally seems to have its heroes of sport legend, and only time will tell whether or not they can deliver the city to the promised land.