Today, my buddy Farrell came to meet in the city for lunch. He just wanted to spend one last day with the old, angry Tony. He knew that once the Phils clinched we would all be totally different.
You know what...he's right. I already feel different. No longer will I expect the worst. I live my life as a sports phan. I won't be worried about Karma, JuJu or superstitions anymore. I totally have J Roll, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Cholly Manuel, etc to thank for that.
This is absolutely a New World for us. We are no longer a city of losers that have to wait for the other shoe to drop. We can be confident and begin to forge a new identity. Look at what Boston has become. There is absolutely no reason why we can't do the same.
The best thing about this game is that it finally puts to rest bad memories that involved some awfully great players from this city. We can finally let go of Game 7 in Edmonton in 1987, as well as the Joe Carter/Mitch Williams debacle in 1993 and the phlops in 1997 and 2001 against dynasties by the Flyers and Sixers respectively. It also finally lays to rest the mysterious 2004 Super Bowl loss to the Pats. We now have a Championship to call our own and forget about past failures. It takes the sting away from the fact that some notable Philly players such as Reggie White, John LeClair, Allen Iverson, and Curt Schilling did not win a title here.
The biggest thing I take from tonight is that I now believe. I believe in hope. I believe in the possibility that things will now go our way. My buddy Farrell's wife tried to comfort me when I was flipping out after the Giants won the Super Bowl last year by saying "cheer up! This shows you that this can happen to Philly!" I didn'twant to believe her, but she was absolutely right. I just wasn't ready to hear it.
Overall, I've spent so much time watching Philadelphia sports and I now feel vindicated that I made the right decision. It was not a waste. If you keep coming back, you will eventually receive the spoils.
17 comments:
I'm with you Bro 100%. Years, and years of aggravation & frustration can now be put to rest. The boys came out ready to fight and end this thing in Philly; yeah they made it interesting but what the hell. It's over now.
TF
Agreed, Tony. Thank you, Phils for making this season one to remember for years and years to come!
We now can say that we have all seen a championship in this city and fully take part in the celebration of it.
Also, am I the only one that is happy that the Phils were the ones to break the curse and not the Eagles? I hope Banner, Lurie, & Reid were taking notes last night while watching the celebration. I hope they see that the phans of this city really appreciate hard work and determination and will reward you for winning. I'm still under the impression that the entire Eagles organization thinks that the phans are just a bunch of dumb, drunk idiots that can't speak in full sentences.
See you guys at the parade. Thanks again, boys! GO PHILS!
I give it a year before that post becomes a bunch of BS and you go back to your good ol' hatin' ways!
Congrats boys.
Nick stole my thunder. So glad that the Phillies broke the drought when everyone assumed the Eagles would be the team that did it.
Congrats to Chris Coste after all of those years of grinding it out in the minors.
You're right, George. Coste deserves this after all of those years in the minors. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Wow, I never thought spending a night at home by myself could turn out so great in the end. Laugther and tears echoed in my living room as that last slider from Lidge made the most beautiful smacking sound against Ruiz's mit. No more "there's always next year", next year is finally THIS year.
I will be at the parade tomorrom taking as many pictures as I can. I guess I better buy some batteries for the camera.
Phinallie Philly is back where it should be in the sports world...on top :-)
Amen brother, Amen!! Tell me somewhere in the back of your mind last night, as Fernandez (whoever he is) roamed off second base, and Lidge peered in for the sign, visions of a 2-run home run kept dancing across. Faintly, but they were there. As much as I tried to ignore them, I kept seeing it...hoping, praying that they would stop haunting me. I can honestly say, I have NEVER, experienced such a thrill of being a Phan, than Strike 3 last night. I was nine when they won in 1980, and I'm sorry, but if the Sixers won 10 championships in the meantime, they just wouldn't mean the same to me. And that's just me. So, when I was nine, it was cool...but I didn't get it. I hadn't had my share of heartbreak yet. (refer to Phan's original post if needed) But I get it now, oh do I get it. Kudos to Brad Fucking Lights Out Lidge, he's a complete stud!! And Chase Utley.....as Harry the K says...you ARE the man!!
Thanks Phightins, bad drivers aren't bothering me today, people that don't say thank you when you hold the door for them at WaWa are okay today, too. Oh, but sorry Bud Selig, your still an asshole!!
As for the parade tomorrow...I'll be there....of course, that's the South Harrison Elementary School Halloween Parade, I'm talking about...(cue in music from Five for Fighting - 100 years) Gotta love being a Dad!!
Well gump, I will try to send some pics to PSP and maybe he can post them for us all :-)
I loved it when they booed the sh*t out of Selig when he was speaking in the end!
The boos were the icing on the cake!
TF
I guess the Chris Coste love runs in the Hayes family.. Anyway, I was there last night, absolutely amazing amazing experience. And I totally agree that I'm so happy it was the Phils that broke the slump.
WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!!!
Yes, I am a huge Coste supporter. This love fest for Ruiz is a trendy media creation.
I definitely think that Coste deserved more playing time but you cant deny Ruiz's contributions in the NLCS and World Series and great defensive play all year. With that said, Marson will be the starter next year. I just hope they keep Coste as a 3rd catcher/pinch hitter
Nick and George...I love you guys, but you picked the one guy that added absolutely nothing to this post season run. You might as well also be happy for So Taguchi. The Coste story is a great one, but seriously what did he add to the postseason this year? Nada. I'm happiest for Burrell, J Roll and Moyer. Burrell still annoys me to no end, but he took a lot of shit from this city and never really complained about it. J Roll has also been here for a while and really helped change the culture here. As for Moyer, he's a friggin St. Joe's Hawk...shouldn't you two be all over him?
Ruiz hit .200 during the year and had some weak infield hits in the postseason. His postseason was just OK, he is not suddenly Mike Piazza at the plate. He threw out a small, below average percentage of baserunners. How quickly everyone overlooks the fact that he threw two balls into the outfield during the postseason, one that almost cost them the game. The other was because of his new thing where he trys to throw behind baserunners after a pitch. I was just waiting for one of those to get past somebody because he had bounced a bunch of them and hadn't come close to getting anybody out. Sorry to be negative after the win, but people must analyze the game for themselves and stop buying into everything the media likes to feed them to make a good story. Coste didn't do anything because he wasn't given a chance. Although he did eventually somewhat redeem himself, Ruiz was lucky to stay in the lineup after his horrible NLDS against the Brewers
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