Ask just about anyone in Chicago, Salt Lake, Detroit, and Green Bay, and they will all agree: they love winners. The same also applies for Washington; sports fans here love teams that win championships, such as the Washington Bullets' 1978 NBA crown, the three Washington Redskins Super Bowl titles, and... oh, yeah, D.C. United's MLS championship last year.

When the Bullets were making their run for the playoffs this year, it was all you saw on the local television sports reports and all you read in the local sports pages. When the Washington Capitals were playing well, they led off the news and were above the fold in the sports section. Even the Baltimore Orioles, which are based in a completely different city, get daily attention.

So why not D.C. United? If the headlines are determined by who wins what, our local MLS club ought to be the first thing out of the mouths of our local TV sports anchors. D.C. United is clearly the premier team in the league, sporting an MLS-best 10-3 record, and the team is, after all, the defending league champion. The squad is also hot at the moment, taking two wins on the road and routing the Colorado Rapids in Washington on Saturday, 5-0.

But for some reason, the mainstream sports media in Washington refuses to acknowledge D.C. United is for real, despite the fact the team WINS. The Redskins and Capitals hit postseason skids and miss the playoffs, yet they still get plenty of ink and footage.

Channel 4 (NBC) gives D.C. United coverage because sports anchor Darian Chapman, who did indoor soccer play-by-play before coming to Washington, loves soccer. You're as likely to see grainy footage of some Iowa girls basketball player hitting a shot from half court or stupid dog races when George Michael or Wally Bruckner are on the air. Steve Buckhantz at Channel 5, Rene Knott at Channel 7 and Ken Broos at Channel 9 have also shown D.C. United footage, but judging by the fact the clips are shown at the end of the sports broadcast, it is evident the soccer coverage is the first to go should the news portion of the program run long.

Among the newspapers, both the Washington Times and the Washington Post have improved their coverage since the World Cup three years ago. But both papers refuse to ever run D.C.United above the fold, which is recognition by the sports editor that the story is among the most important that day. Steven Goff's features are usually in the back of the Post sports section, whereas the signing of a mediocre baseball player in Chicago for a trillion dollars is on page one. The simple fact is, D.C. United professional soccer, for that matter deserves better. With an average attendance of some 20,000 strong supporters, a winning record, and a second championship season looking more and more likely, D.C. United deserves more from Washington's sports press corps.