What a time to be a Philadelphia sports fan. We are living through what some are calling the revitalization of Philadelphia sports, a Philly sports renaissance.
Like most generations of Philadelphia faithful fans we have had our ups and downs watching our teams. We have grown up watching their successes, but more often than not, we have seen them finish at the bottom or middle of the pack, not even contending for a playoff berth.
Who would have thought that we would witness the Phillies win a World Series last October and make another emotional run in this year’s Major League Baseball playoffs?
As college students, it’s the first time in our lives that we have been able to look at our hometown sports teams and have the confidence that they will make some noise during their season and into the postseason.
Most of our parents lived through the glory days of Philadelphia sports and now we are getting a taste of it and most of us don’t want to let it go. Before last baseball season our parents told us about what it was like to see Philadelphia teams of the past make our city proud.
We should all be happy that we are finally getting the chance to have some of those same experiences that one day we can pass on to our children in hopes that they will get to experience the same.
Some people may read this and not understand what is being said. Some people may read this and say, “you’re just talking about sports.” But it’s more than that. When our teams bring home championship titles, our city comes together. “The City of Brotherly Love” lives up to its name. It may just be for a few weeks, months or days, but for that time it’s especially nice to call this place home. Sports have the power to bring out all emotions in people.?
These days are rough for most people. There always seems to be another big problem in the news. We are in the greatest recession since the Great Depression, our country is at war and we’re in a huge period of rebuilding as a country. It’s nice to be able to sit down with your family and friends, watch the game and have something to hope for.
Most of us will never forget, that cold autumn night when Brad Lidge threw the last strike of the 2008 World Series to put the Phillies and Philadelphia on center stage as the world champions of baseball. Every Philly fan can relate to that night they spent hugging and high five-ing friends, family and strangers, crying, running around not knowing what to do with themselves because finally we got to experience what it feels like to be part of a championship.
I’m sure most of us can attest that memories of this will live within us forever. Walking down Broad Street as our world champion team rolled through the city was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Can you only imagine the energy that will electrify this city if the Phillies can pull off a repeat? It would be the first back-to-back World Series championship for any team in nine years. The last team to pull it off was our foe and potential World Series opponent, the New York Yankees.
Being along for this ride has been a great experience. We shouldn’t begin to take this postseason run for granted because we may not be able to experience it again for a very long time. For now, let’s just have high hopes that the red and white can pull it off again for the most passionate fans in professional sports.
