Three Innings to Freedom?

Our friend Carl P. spent Monday night with the rain-soaked masses, and in the freakish interim between the first portion of the game and the second, he's seen and heard the negativity cropping back up. People are wondering if once again, we'll be just close enough to glory that it hurts that much more to miss out. But Carl's stifled the urge to dwell on the negativity of past events, despite enduring years of conversations like those that follow, choosing instead to say, "This will be our year."

October 23, 1993
"Hey dad, would you have given up our house to get the Phils win both games in Toronto?"
"I actually might have sacrificed my first born son."

There I was at the age of 12, staring at a threat on my life and beginning to realize how much our teams meant to this town.  We have wanted this for years.  Decades.

June 7, 1997
"Yo Pesotz, would you set fire to O'Hara and go to jail for a few months if it meant the Flyers could have beaten the Wings?"
"Ahhh, we'll get em next year."

It's been "next year" for my whole damn adult (and adolescent) life.  We're always juuust competitive enough to say it.  Hope is a good thing, until it friggin up and dies.

June 15, 2001
"We were in every game!  We coulda swept Kobe out of Philly and paraded down broad street!  Raja Bell!"
"The ball didn't bounce our way."

Ok, let's make this clear - the ball NEVER bounces our way.  Not even the rain falls our way. 

February 6, 2005
"I can't take it anymore.  When are we going to do it?  I thought this was it.  I really did."
"I would have let Donovan puke on me if it meant a title."
"If it meant a title, he could puke on me every day from now til training camp."

We're emotional wrecks.  We have all at some point stated that we'd do unsanitary things to ourselves "if it meant a title."  Some seven year olds have seen enough already to question if they'd witness a title in their lifetime.  A recent trend seems to indicate that some fans are "trying not to get too hooked" on our teams just to "protect themselves."  We lost our minds long ago.  I'm tired of complaining about it.  Tonight, a ball IS gonna fall our way.  Literally.  Right into section 145 in the bottom of the ninth to send us into Broad Street euphoria and a potential apocalypse.  That fiasco on Monday night was the last straw.  The final countdown.  The seventh circle.  We're here.  We've made it out of the figurative and literal monsoon.  It's time. We're up 3-1 in the World Series and we're crafting conspiracy theories following Tropical Storm Selig.

I'm done with it.  We're three innings from freedom.  Free from sacrificing family members, serving prison sentences, and cleaning up vomit.  Free from bad bounces, fallacious forecasts, and false hope. And for god's sake, we're three innings to freedom from "there's always next year."

There's always next year, but there's always tonight, too.

Let's go win a championship.

Comments

[JD]

amen, brother.

[PhillyPSU]

Well said. This is our time.
Let's Phuckin do this!!!

[burkhardt]

Are you saying this was a Carl P. Monday report?

[slowski]

cheers!

[John]

The only thing better than winning tonight will be if we win by smacking around the over praised over hyped David Price

[timm]

was it over when the germans bombed pearl harbor?

[wolf]

Your story reminds me of the time Abraham promised to sacrific his son to God for a Manchester United Treble

[Chris]

I woulda burned down O'Hara and I am not even much of a hockey fan.

[Andy]

Love the post, Matt. Funnily enough, the Final Countdown, Arrested Development fans that we are, was the song my girl and I were blaring to drown out Joe Buck entering game 5's original beginning. Glad to see we're losing our minds in similar ways.

[al]

MY MAN!!! go phils!

[Andy]

Get ready for the most intense 3 innings of baseball of your life!

[HLH]

MLB.com will be reairing the beginning of game 5 starting @ 6 tonight.......And no they aren't doing that so they can go back and stop it in the fourth before it turned into the Rain Series.

[Ajay]

I would just like to throw out a potential good omen for tonight. A player from Tampa Bay that once tormented us is an important game is now, today of all days, out for the rest of the season: Joe Jurevicius.

Read for yourself:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3670790

Tonight's a night to erase the memories of the past.

[gootman]

We will win... and if we don't, I'm slamming a bottle of champagne over Walklett's head.

[MPR529]

ugh, i looked on my DVR in phoenix and it has the game listed for 2 hours, then the obama horseshit, THEN they have MLB POstgame.

If I get phucked out of seeing any celebrations, i might have to murder someone.

if ANYONE back home is going to record any of the local news coverage of the celebrations in the streets/on the field, I will glady pay for a dvd copy & shipping and a few cases of beer for it if any of you are so technically inclined...

[PhillyPSU]

Phuckin' Peter Gammons has already called this "The Worst World Series Ever."
Presumably because his Sawx aren't playing in it. It's on the front page (in a tiny little box) but here's the link:

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3670214&name=gammons_peter&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d3670214%26name%3dgammons_peter

I phucking hate most of ESPN, Gammons, Ravech, all those tools right now.
Thank God for Jayson Stark, and Barkann/Mitch/Ricky.
Only ones sticking up for us.

Why won't the Inqy columnists ever defend our reputation? National media continually kicking us in the balls, and who steps up for us?

I say we win and phuck 'em all!!

[Kulp]

MPR, if there are any celebrations, I will be recording and eventually posting them on the site.

[Poster Nutbag]

this morning i was ready to succumb to my traditional negadelphia attitude, but after reading an inspirational post on beerleaguer and now this, i am ready.

WHY CAN'T US?

[MPR529]

I HEART KULP!!

[mike c]

@ Matt P.

I like the O'Hara mention. Class of '09!!!!

[MPR529]

F O'Hara!

FATHER JUDGE '97 bitches!!!

[Steve]

I DIDN'T HEAR NO BELL!

[none]

@PhillyPSU - screw the national media. They are in fact the reason why these series have gotten progressively worse and worse.

[digi]

O'Hara was cooler than Salesianum...

why..?

girls.

[MikeY]

Anyone ever listen to the song "Adrenaline" by 12 Stones?

That's exactly how I feel right now.

I'm sitting here at work, watching the clock in agony, waiting for it to be 5 o'clock so I can get the hell out of here and get to the Bank for the game.

It's gonna be nuts. I can't wait. It's been 21 years of misery for me...I was too young to remember the Phillies in '93, but I had to witness the Flyers in '97 and '01, the Sixers in '00, the Eagles in '05...and it could all end tonight, and I will be there to witness it live and in person.

I do not want to add this Phillies team to that list. This team is too good to let this slip away.

They can do it. They Need to do it, not only for themselves, but for this entire city. Tonight is our night.

So, enjoy this everyone, I know I will.

Go Phillies!

Why Can't Us?

[JimMc]

Bonner High, we're loyal....

[MPR529]

looking back, yeah, i wish i had chicks in my school. but that just made nazareth and huberts broads more horny at judge dances! WOOOO!!!

OK, I think Im feeling good again, let's close this bitch out!

[Stu]

In July 2001 ESPN.com had a list of the 63 reasons why sports is better than anything. Number 13 was Philadelphia and it's fans. I've kept a copy of this article and read it every now and again- usually when I'm missing the city of my birth. I've been in Washington DC for nearly a decade and since I have no family left in Philly my trips back are few and far between.

The article praises the passion and commitment we Philly fans have for our teams and while it does take a few shots (mentions snowballs @ Santa Claus, Irvin injury cheering) it's a good article. The last line sums up what I think many of us are feeling in anticipation of tonight's game:

"They howl because this is their city, they are its fans, and now and forever, they are in it together."

WHY CAN'T US!
GO PHILS!

[mike c]

@stu

can i get a link to that article?

[Stu]

@Mike C:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3247790&type=story

[K in South Jersey]

@ Stu...thanks for posting the link

great article

[TJB]

i was nine when my dad came in the room to wake me up for the 9th inning. i stared in disbelief when we lost it all. i couldn't believe it was all over...

now i'm 23. i KNOW what i'm watching. this time around i appreciate every little thing. espn and their new york/boston/chicago cubs loving puppets can piss off for all i care.

this night is ours...

[Mike H.]

Madson to start the seventh. The matchups are very good for that move. Then you have Romero or Eyyre for the eighth and Lidge for the ...