The Philadelphia Phillies are the saviors of the City of Brotherly Love. Not since the 1980’s have fans in Philadelphia been this excited. Their sports teams have been floundering for decades but as of late the Phillies have become consistently one of the best teams in baseball. The outpouring of support last night despite the 1 hour and 20 minute rain delay was a sight to see. The fans proved just how great Philadelphia fans can be once they get behind a team and the Phillies are that team.
The 76ers have not been decent since 2001 and even then the ongoing saga with Allen Iverson took away from their success. The Eagles have always played well but the never-ending tension between the city, Andy Reid, and Donovan McNabb has left Philly fans disgruntled. The Flyers were once a good team but have not been for many years and now sit in the purgatory of the NHL, neither good nor bad but consistently average. The Phillies have been the one bright light in a city that has been outshined by Pittsburgh in its own state as well as New York which is a mere 2 hour drive away.
And this Phillies team deserves the love it has received. Management made great moves getting Raul Ibanez who has had a monster season by his standards and most importantly Cliff Lee whose skills were on full display during his dominant performance in game 1 of the World Series. They picked up Jayson Werth who has provided much needed protection for Ryan Howard and Brad Lidge, despite his recent woes, has provided their bullpen with much needed stability and was crucial to their championship run in 2008. Ownership has been willing to spend money to win and they spend it wisely and have gotten great results, capturing the crown in 2008 and fighting for it here in 2009. The players are active in the community and through great play have gained the affection of the oft ill-tempered Philly fans.
Even as a Yankee fan I cannot help but to have respect for the Phillies players, organization, and fan base.
2 comments:
All good points. You have to hand it to management. They went out and made the moves they needed to make to get the Phillies in the best chance to win. They got Lee and Ibanez like you said. They traded Borne for Brad Lidge. They are a shrewd team willing to do what's necessary.
They really are a great team and I have to give respect to their management as well as their ownership. They have made some great moves and have had a lot of success while managing to keep their core group of star players which is nothing to scoff at. Thanks for you comment!
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