This post is a little (okay, way, way) late in coming, but after 25 years, Philadelphia sports fans across the globe were able to cross this off their list. The Phillies won the World Series!
The season was an unbelievable rollercoaster ride, with all the highs and lows you expect from a true Philadelphia team, with one exception. The Phils ended on top. The very top. The tippy top. World Series Champions.
This post is late enough that it is safe to say that the Eagles aren't going to win the Super Bowl and the Sixers aren't looking too good (sub .500 at the moment). The Flyers have potential to make this a 2-fer year, but they still have to make it through their annual February swoon. At any rate, the Phils are the one that broke the chain of losing seasons.
There is a big part of me that is happy that it was the Phillies to do it. Baseball is my favorite sport. It's a summer game; it invites sun and warmth, flip-flops, t-shirts and shorts, hot dogs, grilling and relaxing. I always took the Phils' losses the hardest, maybe because there have been so many.
Heading into the playoffs, I will admit that I was not the most confident Phillies fan. I knew they had what it would take to win, but they needed to show up to play and any Philadelphia fan can tell you that our teams don't always show up to play. But after Game 2 of the NLDS against the Brewers, there was a feeling that something special was going on. I mean, they crushed C.C. Sabathia, who had been simply dominant since getting picked up by Milwaukee. Shane Victorino hit the grand slam and they were off and running. The momentum continued through to the NLCS against the Dodgers. Manny Ramirez was nearly unstoppable with LA in the regular season and postseason, but the Phillies limited the damage he could cause by pitching the rest of the Dodgers well.
Heading into the World Series, I tried not to think of the possibilities. I tried not to imagine standing on Broad Street watching the Phillies ride by in celebration. I tried not to imagine what Philadelphia would be like with a championship team. I tried not to imagine all of these things and failed miserably. I wouldn't talk about it, but I knew they were going to win. They had to. I knew they would play to their potential and beat the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series. They would make the clutch plays, the key hits, they'd play small ball and hit the long ball. They'd do it all and it would be glorious.
And it was glorious. Oh, there were moments of pain, but they passed by and the confidence returned quickly. Game 5 was the most obviously stressful game of the Series, what with a 48 hour rain delay and all. But they did it.
We immediately hopped a train into Center City to join the mass of people gathering at City Hall. We celebrated there for about 45 minutes before catching the train back to Ardmore. Later it was reported that some people continued to "celebrate" into the wee hours of the morning, although I'm not quite sure what flipping cars and setting fires, looting and rioting have to do with celebrating.
Two days later, there I was with 2 million other people standing along Broad Street as the Phillies rode by waving to the fans. Confetti was dropping from the sky, people were cheering, everyone was getting along. And, if even for just a few hours on a beautiful Fall day, all was right with the world. The Philadelphia Phillies were World Series Champions.
Photos:
Phillies Win the World Series
Phillies World Series Parade
P.S. - I'm backdating this post because I am embarrassed that it took me this long to write about it. (Originally posted on January 27, 2009)
