3) And seriously, who cares?

But Cubs announcers evidently do not agree. Both the TV and radio crews discussed the behavior of Nats fans over the past few days, and both appeared to find that behavior somehow lacking. I believe some Nats fans think I am spreading malicious filth about Washingtonians by repeating this stuff, and I’m sorry if it seems that way. I would rather hope that some future announcer will read this, and think, “Huh, perhaps paying customers attending long events at hard-to-reach locales can leave whenever the heck they want.”

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I’m sure this isn’t a comprehensive accounting, but Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes had chimed in on the topic as soon as Tuesday evening.

“And again, more people heading for the exits,” he said at one point. “That just surprises me.”

Listeners took note.

And Hughes revisited the topic early in Wednesday’s matinee.

“Fans still coming in,” he said. “They’re a late-arriving bunch here in Washington, D.C. The ballgame started almost a half-hour ago. And I was amazed last night to see fans leaving what was one of the more compelling and exciting ball games that we’ve seen all year long. But in the seventh, eighth innings — it was tied in the eighth inning, close all the way through — and yet fans were leaving by the hundreds. I was amazed.”

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Soon, the WGN crew would also be amazed.

“This has turned into a wild ballgame with a real playoff-like atmosphere — except for most of the fans stick around in the playoffs,” analyst Jim Deshaies said in extra innings. “Aside from that, there’s been great energy in the ballpark.”

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“Still see a lot of people walking toward town, away from the park, in a big sidewalk area out beyond the left center field fence,” Hughes said around the same time. “I would say about five- to seven-thousand fans have already left the park. This place can get loud, though.”

And then WGN returned to the topic in the 12th.

“This is a sellout crowd, but a lot of people are leaving,” play-by-play man Len Kasper said, as cameras showed fans walking out. “Is there a curfew here early?”

“Not sure what the deal is,” Deshaies said. “They were streaming in earlier. They’re filtering out now.”