WASHINGTON — It’s amazing what you find after spending 30 years in one place.
As you might have heard, WTOP is on the move, heralding an exciting new chapter for Washington’s Top News. Sadly, it means saying goodbye to the digs here in D.C.’s McLean Gardens neighborhood, and that means bidding farewell to what is affectionately known as “The Football Table.”
The table has been the newsroom’s Main Street, its Town Hall. It’s a place where editors and reporters converse or catch a few minutes of a news conference on TV. Most importantly, it’s where free snacks or lunches occasionally appear, albeit briefly. Put something on The Football Table, the legend says, and it will magically disappear.
So yeah, the table isn’t making the trip and it’s not alone. Work anywhere long enough and you’ll accumulate a surplus of stuff. And if Marie Kondo were to ask us, for instance, whether that cutout of Richard Sherman’s face we found brings us joy, the answer would be a furrowed brow.
(At the moment, Sherman is over by WTOP Entertainment Editor Jason Fraley’s desk. No word yet if he’s keeping it.)
Much of this surplus stuff has been appearing on The Football Table because an important part of packing up is throwing out and giving away.
Here now is a sampling of the random items up for grabs that won’t be making the trip to Chevy Chase, Md.
Do we have any takers?
To win those awards, a news organization submits a collection of its best work. Back in the (recent) day, those submissions were done on CD. Apparently, we like to have extras. (WTOP/Jack Pointer)
A miniature Monopoly board — really? (WTOP/Julia Ziegler)
Check it out: an old umbrella! Snag it while you can, dude. (WTOP/Julia Ziegler)
The expiration date on these things is from, like, 2003. I’m selling them on eBay anyway. (WTOP/Jack Pointer)
Check back soon to see what else we’ve unearthed! We’ll continue to update this gallery with more random stuff as we find it.
