Befriending Generation Facebook

"I think there's a lot of special opportunities that can be done that sports teams haven't really tapped . . . there are a lot of things they can do to connect with their users and fans directly," said Jag, whose books include "MySpace Marketing" and "Facebook Marketing."

For some franchises, however, there is a downside to the Internet's relative lawlessness. Sometimes, in comment sections, fans post vulgar or inappropriate messages.

"To me, [MySpace] wasn't professional enough for the image we want to present," said Heidi Faith, media relations coordinator for the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse. "You definitely want to be out there in a community and be in that particular age group. My concern is that they're a good presence, but they have to be chosen wisely to maintain what you're doing."

The Redskins and Nationals do not advertise through social networks, and it is uncertain how many other major professional sports teams have created Facebook or MySpace profiles because anyone can create his own, unofficial page for those teams.

However, within the past few years, the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals have started using such sites.

Because the Wizards have an established fan base, growing from the grassroots is not the primary focus. They instead try to heighten their exposure, saturating fans with even more multimedia or interactive features. They also try to keep up with the Web's wide-ranging marketing capabilities.

The Capitals have been one of the forerunners of this type of sports marketing. They frequently update their Facebook page with videos or articles but, like smaller pro teams, sometimes focus on drawing fans by offering discounted tickets through their profile.

The Capitals have more than 3,000 Facebook friends. On their Facebook wall, where friends can write messages, fans have weighed in on the team's recent bounty of postseason awards: "CONGRATS ovechkin and boudreau!! and backstrom!!!!"

"People who use Facebook to message each other . . . and their phones and who have tendinitis in their thumbs because they're texting so much, you're gonna have to reach out to meet those people there because they're not necessarily going to come to you," said Sean Parker, the Capitals' director of new media. "This is just one small step in that direction."