This is a story about a pen, a police officer and the playoffs.
It began last July on a turbulent night at Audi Field when, after an exasperating defeat to the New York Red Bulls, D.C. United Coach Ben Olsen fired his pen into the squishy grass.
Greg Alemian, a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police Department, was stationed near the team bench and witnessed Olsen’s antics. He picked up the pen and put it in his pocket.
By the next home game, Alemian had been reassigned to a spot behind the south goal, where steps link the field to the lower-level locker rooms and where fans gather for autographs.