These Are Good Days to be a Phillies Fan

The happily drunk fan sitting in front of me was telling us all exactly what we were thinking. It started at some point in the fifth or sixth inning, "40 MORE OUTS UNTIL THE PHILLIES WIN THE WORLD SERIES." After every subsequent Tampa batter to make an out, he updated his statement and screamed it loudly for all of us to hear until it reached 27. Then he simply lost his mind.

The Phillies are one win away from bringing a championship to the city of Philadelphia.

While I voiced my displeasure with the section I sat in for the NLCS game I attended against L.A., I have to give mad props to the fine fans in section 144 last night at Citizens Bank Park. From the crazy guys in front of us to the old timer behind us, high fives were flying around CBP like Phillies home runs last night. It. Was. Awesome.

This city can taste it. It's so close.

I'm not going to lie, after going to games three and four in South Philly, I'm exhausted from screaming my lungs out. I'll try to have a bit more on Sunday night's game later today. In the mean time, definitely check out Matt's great post about his/our adventures at Saturday's game. It really captures the excitement of this weekend perfectly.

I kept subscribing to Charlie Manuel's logic and kept saying the sleeping giant will have to wake up sooner or later. And boy did Ryan Howard show up the past two nights by notching three home runs that could help lift this team into Philadelphia glory.

As it's been this whole post-season, everybody is chipping in, from Ryan and Werth going deep to Pedro and Jimmy slapping singles to Joe Friggin' Blanton going yard. Everybody. Love it.

It's 3:20 in the morning and the Phillies will send Cole Hamels to the mound later tonight to try and win the World Series.

I don't have a ticket yet but you can be damn sure I'm going to try to do my best to get one in the next 15 hours.

One more.

Comments

[85]

That game was awesome to be at live. It was an unbelievable feeling going through that crowd. We know what's happening here.

I've got my ticket for tomorrow. Let's rock.

[David F.]

Citizens Bank Park was rockin', and we were going nuts out at the Shack in Santa Monica, CA too! If you are in Los Angeles or around there, come out to the Shack...we gets tons of Phillies fans and watch the game on a huge projection screen. Great food too!

[Wilkes-Barre Sucks]

I imagine this is exactly what Brad Lidge had in mind when he gave the A.L. home field in the World Series...

[Pop Pop Glasses]

Did anyone notice how ridiculous Tim McCarver started to sound when all of his hype about Iwamura didn't pan out?..."He's not use to playing that close to first base....", on the groundball that he booted after he and Joe Buck stated that he, Iwmura, was the perfect fit for the Rays at second base. Well Timmy.... just goes to show that no matter where you line up and don't come up with a ground ball, it's still an error. I thought the next item for these two "intellectuals" was gonna be...."There must be a language problem for Iwamura because he's such a great fielder and that error was because he didn't understand just how far left he was to play." GO PHILLIES.........ONE AND DONE!!!!

[theoldsport]

Hamels should've started Opening Day, but I think it's even more fitting he's on the mound tonight.

Speaking of fitting, I think (hope) Pat is going to give us the game of his life.

Go Phillies!
(Win today, and we'll walk together forever...)

[ill]

I agree about McCarver, he is absolutely painful to listen to. He talks just to hear himself talk. I can only imagine Buck looking over at him during broadcasts and mouthing "what the fuck does that even mean?" I wish they would let the hometown guys call the games instead of these clowns, hearing Harry call game 5 would be money.

[Not a fan of five]

I got a last minute invitation to the Eagles game, section 129 row 25. There were "Let's Go Phillies!" chants, like, all the time. Bring it home tonight boys! This place will explode.

[B-Mac]

Enrico- I have been trying to get tickets for tonight's game. How have you gone about getting tickets?

[slowski]

so awesome.

if i had a nickel for everytime i became overwhelmed with emotion and teared up over the last few weeks id go buy a ticket to tonights game.

LETS GO PHILLIES, LETS GO!

[Greg]

not to put the horse before the cart or anything, but for travel arrangements, when would the parade be? If we win tonight of course?

[MJ]

Of course it's a great time to be a phillies fan.......WHEN YOU ARE WINNING. You people are the MOST fair weathered fans of all prof. sports. You are SECOND CLASS fans to a SECOND CLASS team in a SECOND CLASS CESPOOL of a city. By the way, I'm not a Rays fan...just someone who is tired of you blowhards. You have absolutley no class.

[jms]

Jusso so you guys know, I saw a TON of Why Can't Us shirts at the game yesterday. I hope I can make a"Yes Us Can" one to wear on my sick day Wednesday. I feel a fever coming on...

[UsCanUsCan]

MJ,

It's "fair-weathered", "cesspool", and "absolutely." My goodness, I can understand a spelling error here or there, but you entirely negate the insult when you spell it incorrectly.

[Mark]

We're fair-weather fans? Let's talk about how the Rays couldn't even sell out their tiny stadium all regular season despite being in first/being right in the hunt for the entire season. Please don't even try to compare us to that; you just make yourself look ridiculous. Or let's talk about how we had almost 3.5 million people walk through the turnstiles this season, ranking us 4th out of 16. Now, let's stack that up against the Rays and their fair-weather fans who only had 1.8 million people walk into that shithole this year. A whopping 12th of 14. So MJ, please STFU and GTFO

[Saul]

@MJ

Are you suggesting that true "first rate" fans would declare it "a great time to be a [pick a team] fan" when they're losing? "My team is 70-92 and a million games out of playoff contention. It's a great time to be a fan." That doesn't make sense. So, yes, the best time to be a fan is when the team is winning. But the difference between us and you is that we're still fans when it's NOT a great time to be a fan. We're still fans in those 70-92 (and worse) seasons. And I bet that's a lot more than we can say for you.

[Bud]

MJ, which is it, Yanks or Mets? Let me know where in NY to send the WHAAAAAAAAMBULANCE.
HAHAHAHA GO PHILS!

[Hextall454]

I expected better of you, Michael Jordan.

[John]

This is the perfect opportunity. You have Hamels pitching, you're at home, the bats are alive (It's Alive!!!!). Let's do this.

[MJ]

Blah blah blah blah blah blah.........your comments prove my point! Again, I'm NOT a Rays fan, and I don't live in Florida. This has nothing to do with the Rays. YOU ARE ALL BLOWHARDS!

[Mark]

Which team is it? Please let us know so we can use the proper stats to make you look like a fool.

[mattindc]

ahaha he's too embarrassed to admit what team he is a fan of, even on an anonymous message board....true fan right here.

[michael]

MJ is probably a jealous guido trash met fan. how's jose reyes' offseason going? thinking of more dance moves?

[Scott]

MJ - Sounds like you know a thing or two about Blowing Hard....

25 years...This fan base has supported each team in this city for the past 25 years...and we are finally going to get the pay off. While we might not always agree with the moves and how things are done, it only goes to prove that we care and are involved every step of the way. It's always a great time to be a Phillies (or Eagles, or Flyers, or Sixers) fan. I wouldn't still be here supporting my teams if it wasn't. But Holy Lord is it going to be an even better time when this series is over and we get to celebrate being the best. We've been good. We've been very good. Tonight, we have the chance to be the best, and I, for one, am trying to absorb every minute of it, and hope it is just the beginning.

[Jane]

Coming to the 700 Level, of all places, and accusing the people here of being fair-weather fans? You hit that like an AL pitcher, MJ. Please. There are always bandwagon fans (do I sense a bitter Red Sox fan in the house?) but you can't say that about this town, let alone this blog.

I hear bitterness goes down nicely with a beer chaser, dude. Unclench.

[bboova]

Dude I'm such an a-hole, I was sitting in 143 right next to you. I was gonna text you, too.

Awesome, awesome game. I was giggling at the Cindy Crawford chants the whole game and I know you were welling up when Ryan hit that first dinger Enrico, you big softie, I know I was...this shit is getting surreal.

My dad kept score for the whole game, check it out...

[theKrisheim]

"blowhard"

is this the 1950s?

[dayna]

When we win the Series, when will the parade be?

[Pop Pop Glasses]

@ill....L.O.L.......I guess that's why the director never says, "Go to camera 6" to give us a look-see at the broadcast team because that is most likely just what Joe Buck is thinking and they say that,"A picture is worth a thousand words." Looks like Harry Kallas is going to get "boned" again, just like he did back in 1980 when NBC wouldn't allow him and the Phillies broadcast team do the series clinching win against the Royals and had their own "intellectuals" do the game. Just once, I'd like to have our own guys do, what most likely is their own dream, call the "GAME OF THEIR LIVES." Even if it meant having to put up with Andy Musser again. GO PHILLIES.

[meghn]

I'm going to the game tonight. I can't wait. To say this is surreal just doesn't describe it. I was picked in the ticket lottery Friday and I still can't believe I was able to buy tickets from the team! I'll admit it, after the game last night I cried like the girl I am. We're so close! I was at the division clincher game so I know I'm bringing the luck!

I have to admit, this is the World Series I wanted. I have to give the Rays a lot of props. I have fond memories of our "worst to first" 1993 squad, so I am really happy that the Rays finally have a winning team. Their's is a story I can root for, but not this World Series! They're young and they have a lot of years to get more experience under their belts. but this game.... tonight is our night!