Top Stories of the Week: Rosebar Lounge and D.C. nightlife win, even when the Wizards don’t

To Americans and people across the world, the flagship city of the United States of America is New York City. It is the largest American city, offers a wide range of nightlife and business opportunities, and New Yorkers are also big time sports fans. They love their Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, Liberty, and even the Red Bulls and New York City FC for MLS.

Washington on the other hand is known for being a political town where gridlock runs the day. It’s a punching bag city for most Americans who live in other corners of the country for many reasons. And when it comes to sports, most of the teams have varying levels of support. The Capitals generally have the most right now because they’re the Defending NHL Stanley Cup Champions. The Wizards also have been a perennial playoff team, but never advanced past the second round since 1979.

And when it comes to Washington’s entertainment and nightlife scene, the city gets unfairly knocked down below New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, The Bay Area, and even Cleveland — at least when LeBron James played there.

So let’s give ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith props for namedropping Rosebar Lounge on Connecticut Avenue between M and N Street NW near Dupont Circle when criticizing John Wall and the Wizards earlier this week.

To get in more detail, Smith mentioned that he saw pictures of John Wall at the Washington night club that weren’t the most flattering. When the Wizards aren’t winning consistently, the optics of going to the night club on weekend nights isn’t good.

Wall addressed those optics last week in an Instagram Live video where he said that it’s okay to go to the club “once in a blue while.”

I don’t frequent D.C.’s night clubs, whether it’s Rosebar Lounge, or other night clubs Wall criticized like Living Room on Vermont Avenue and K Street Northwest and Opera on I Street and 14th Street Northwest. But here’s my take on it all.

First, let’s relate this to Wall specifically. First, it’s fine if Wall goes to Rosebar or any club occasionally. He’s a grown man and can do that. But here’s where going to the club is not so fine.

But Wall doesn’t appear to be in 100 percent shape, so if he’s going to a night club, drinking alcohol excessively and stuffing his face with pizza at the &Pizza next door to Rosebar at 4 a.m. every Sunday morning, then THAT would be a problem.

For the average person who goes clubbing on many weekends, this is still unhealthy behavior. But the average person probably doesn’t work in a profession that requires him or her to be in optimal shape. Wall is.

I don’t know what Wall’s habits on the weekend are because it’s not my business. Again, Wall is a grown adult and he can do what he wants. But if Wall is engaged in unhealthy habits during the season like excessive drinking or eating two jumbo slices and going to sleep until 1 p.m. afterwards, it’s something he is entitled to do though it’s also not doing the Wizards any favors.

As for the nightlife scene in Washington, however, all of the night clubs, whether it’s Rosebar, Opera, Living Room, or anyone else in Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, or the U Street Corridor win!

Free national publicity means more visitors, so maybe Stephen A.’s Rosebar name drop will give some of you out of towners a reason to come to Washington and experience the nightlife scene here in the nation’s capital. I get it, Washington is a boring city on the outside because we don’t have the Miami climate, the L.A. movies, or the New York hustle and bustle. But Washington has so much more to offer. Our nightlife is underrated quite frankly while you can party the night away in style!

And when you’re done after clubbing, get a jumbo slice of pizza. That’s practically a D.C. tradition.

Anyways, the Wizards are 3-9 right now though they did beat the Miami Heat on Saturday. At this point, there isn’t much to say about the team. The national media is beating up on them pretty relentlessly. And the general consensus is that the Wizards should just blow it up. Unfortunately, as we and SB Nation’s Kristian Winfield noted, trading Wall specifically will be very difficult to do at best, and impossible at worst.

The Wizards start a five-game homestand on Monday against the Magic, so hopefully there’s a win streak in this team’s DNA somewhere.

I don’t have much else to add right now. But hopefully things will turn around for the better in the next couple weeks. Enjoy the rest of your weekends everyone.