Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
October 9, 2008, Washington Post

Sports Have Been Good to Capitals Owner

Ted Leonsis is best known to Washington sports fans as the owner of the Washington Capitals hockey team. But he has done lots of things. Leonsis was a top student at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and started his first computer magazine when he was 24 years old. Now, Leonsis owns parts of about 20 businesses and is involved with numerous charities.

As the Capitals 2008-09 season gets underway, I spoke with Leonsis about how he got to be an owner and what it's like to own a professional team.

What did you like to do as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York?

Both of my parents worked in Manhattan, my father as a waiter and my mother as a secretary. I had to entertain myself between the time school ended and when they got home. So I went to the park and played sports.

What sports did you play?

I played football, basketball and softball. I also played roller hockey. We didn't have ice rinks where I lived. We played on old metal roller skates, the kind you tightened with a skate key.

What did you learn from playing sports?

I saw at an early age the power of sports to change lives. I noticed some of the older kids outside the fence at the park doing the wrong things, such as drinking alcohol and taking drugs. But inside the park fence, it was all about sports. The kids who competed at sports usually went home and did their homework and later went off to college.

What were your favorite teams growing up?

The New York Jets, Mets, Knicks and Rangers. I went to Rangers games with my father when the team had promotions and tickets were only three or five dollars.

When did you become interested in owning a sports team?

That's a complicated story. I was fortunate to sell my first business for a lot of money. Shortly after that I was in a plane accident. As the plane was going down and I was praying, I promised myself that if I survived I would do more with my life. I survived and wrote down 101 things I wanted to do -- I call it my Life List. One of the things was to own a professional team and win a championship.

What does an owner do for a team?

The owner sets the strategy to help the team win. I think winning a professional sports championship is the hardest thing to do in business. There are 30 teams, and it is difficult to get the coaches and players to work together as a team. Even then you may lose because of injuries or bad luck.

How will the Capitals do this season?

Our goals remain the same. We want to build a team with lots of young players who will grow together to become one of the best teams in the league. We want to be better than last season.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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