Way back when I started this blog (you know, back when I gave a crap and updated the site on nearly a daily basis without taking long, unexcused sabbaticals), I pontificated on the following topic: "Would A Title Change Us?"
At the time, I wrote:
Would a World Series win and three Super Bowl titles in 5 years change us in the same way the Boston faithful have been transformed from a cynical lot to the nauseatingly positive group they've become? I doubt it could happen here, but I’d really like to see what it would feel like to test my hypothesis.
A title for the Birds, Phils, Fly Guys, or Sixers would be absolutely fantastic, but can you see an Eagles fan biting his tongue when D Mac overthrows a wide open receiver the next year in a tense NFC East battle? Will the collective Flyers’ fan base show some patience and withhold the urge to yell “shoot” and boo when the Orange and Black squander a 5 on 3 power play after celebrating a Cup a year or two earlier? Is it possible that Phils' fans could turn a blind eye to Pat “the Bat” whiffing with 2 outs and men in scoring position simply because he was a hero in the postseason the previous autumn?
Sorry, but Philly fans are an impatient, demanding bunch by nature. I don’t see a title or two undoing years of behavior ingrained in our collective DNA. The Sports Guy talks about a 5 year grace period when a team wins a title and the fan base should give the team a pass for any and all ineptitude. As usual, the Sports Guy has a point as it makes sense for most towns, but not here. In Philly, such a grace period with the fans would last 5 months…strike that…5 weeks before we’d return to our normal selves and question the effort and expertise of the front office and team at issue.
As if I needed any additional confirmation, the phans at the Phils opening game last night showed that I really do have the pulse of the Philly Sports Phan base. However, I sure was generous with the five week grace period. As we saw last night, that grace period lasted more like 5 batters before the phans turned on Brett Myers and his new physique. (As I said the other night on Facebook, I really liked the chubby Brett Myers better. He was a much better pitcher with the extra girth. Someone needs to introduce him to the Andy Reid Diet...fast!)
Last night proved that we as Philly Phans, are who we thought we were.
(Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Denny Green completes me.)
Brett Myers came out and pitched like sh*t after getting through the first two hitters and having Chipper down 0-2 before Larry took a decent pitch the opposite way. Then, the notorious Phillie killer, Brian McCann, absolutely Matt Stairs-ed a ball to the upper deck in right and moved Myers into full melt down mode. Clearly, he deserved to be booed and last night's crowd did not disappoint.
The performance of the crowd last night moved me to write again. I figure if Phils' phans still have the same passion despite the unforgettable moments of last Fall, then why can't I ratchet it back up again?
Let's hope we can both keep it going. However, for at least one day, we were both back in the saddle again.
4 comments:
good to see you back!!!
Farrell
you had me at hello.
About time you are writing again!
wait a minute....you leave us hanging for how long, and jump right into things with nothing more than a paranthetical mentioning of your "absense"?? An apology to your readers would seem apropos, would it not?? In any case, it's good to see you back. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the hero status the Phaithful have bestowed upon Pat the Bat. I don't love that he's gone, but....come on everyone, think back to how many times in the last 8 seasons you cursed him for taking that called third strike on the inside corner as he pulled his fat ass out of the way. I rooted for him too, and really do hate to see him go, but if this was an American League city, than he'd probably still be here as the DH, but he's not, and quite frankly, the hero-status is a bit exaggerated!! And again, I am NOT a Pat hater by any means!! Your thoughts??
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