From growing up in South Philadelphia and living down the street from the unforgettable Veterans Stadium, I have witnessed numerous encounters that have made history in Philly sports throughout my life. Now I know what you could be thinking, this isn’t the sports section, so why is she leading to Philly sports?
As most (or hopefully all) of you know, the Phillies clinched the National League East title for the third consecutive year in a row. Although there were some mistakes made in 2007 that didn’t lead the Phils to victory, they proved their doubters wrong as they captured the 2008 World Series, which happened to be the greatest night of my entire life.
I remember the night as if it were yesterday, the rush of adrenaline as I watched Brad Lidge throw his last pitch in game five. I immediately ran out of my grandfather’s row-home down to Broad Street with my friends trailing by my side shouting words of praise as we faced the crowded streets of red and white.
So, what’s the point here? Although I’ve had an experience of a lifetime saying that I have seen the Phillies win a World Series title in my youth, I have always said I could never get enough. That’s right, I’m praying for another title; but what’s really on my mind is this: can the outrageous ongoing celebration be as unbelievable as last year?
It’s hard to think about, since it has only been about a year since the Phillies were handed the glorious 2008 trophy. I’ve asked around the town of South Philly and many locals believe it cannot top last year’s celebration; I beg to differ.
The only thing that can break the hopes of another unforgettable parade is that Philly is and has been in a major budget crisis that may have a huge impact on any celebrations for the near future. Did you know that just last New Year’s the city tried to stop the Mummers from marching down 2nd street? How could they take that away from us?! Because it costs a lot of money to clean the streets after hours and hours of continuous New Year’s partying.
What crosses my mind is this; hopefully if we win again, will the city try to stop the parade? Or if they cannot stop it, will they cut it short? What could we do to possibly try to convince the deal-makers of the city’s budget management to allow us to rightfully celebrate in honor of our home team?
I know the victory celebration amongst fans in the streets can cause cars to flip, bottles to break and some screaming here and there but it’s all natural actions of real devoted Phillies fans who have waited many years to root for their home team in concurring the title. No, I do not promote cars flipping, since I was in a car after game four and many raging fans attempted to flip it – while I was in the car! However, I do claim that I am and have been a fan ever since my entire family made me watch the games on TV after dinner instead of watching cartoons or Disney movies.
So, to the real Phillies fans, we want to see another victory as well as celebrating on Broad Street, right? Not including the band-wangoners who packed the train stations on Oct. 31, 2008 to rush to the parade, nearly 85 percent of them only tuned in to the series expecting to come out and represent as a long time fan. I am talking about the ones who have been to more than a few games in the season before post season, the ones who actually talk knowledge about their thoughts on the game no matter if it’s a win or loss.
Who says we’ve had enough? This is not meant to be a jinx and I am not trying to boycott the city to force a parade amongst us. All I am saying is this, let’s be in high hopes, “high apple pie, in the sky hopes” that if we are able to attain such an astounding achievement again, we will celebrate in high hopes on the streets of Philadelphia until the street cleaners take us to the sidewalks or until the cops ask us to leave. Good luck to the Phillies during the 2009 post season and let’s win it for Harry.
