I know you feel raw right now, Phillies fans. I know you are downtrodden that our team didn't win another World Series. Before you get too upset, however, you need to keep a little perspective. We still have 2008 and all the memories that went into winning that title. We still have Cole Hamels' mastery, Brad Lidge's perfection, Carlos Ruiz's big hits and Ryan Howard's homers. They still won it all in Harry Kalas' last year. We still have that banner waving in Citizens Bank Park and nothing will take that away.
Not winning this year doesn't erase 2008. No, the Phillies weren't the best team in baseball this year, they were the second best. No, they didn't have enough pitching to slow down the Yankees. And, no, none of the left-handed bats showed up in the World Series except Chase Utley. But, they still deserve credit for getting back to the World Series and giving it everything they had to defend their title. They still gave us plenty of memorable comebacks and brilliant pitching performances, they just didn't quite have enough to get it done against a good Yankees team.
It's okay to be disappointed that the 2009 Phillies didn't get it done, just don't ever forget that the Phillies were the 2008 World F'n Champions.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
We'll always have 2008, Phillies fans
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Phillies get their World Series rings!
What a ring! Here's the video for everyone that didn't see it:
Monday, January 12, 2009
It's official: Philly owns New York
Philadelphia may no longer have to suffer in the shadow of New York, at least when it comes to sports.
In case you haven't noticed by now, the Philly sports scene is completely dominating the New York sports scene. The Eagles victory over the Giants seals the fact that every Philadelphia team in the 4 major sports is better than every New York team, even in the sports in which New York has two teams. It's been quite the reversal of fortune for two cities who had gotten used to their roles as underdogs in Philly and as heavy favorites in the Big Apple.
The Phillies, of course, are on top of the baseball world having just won the World Series. The Phillies success is directly related to their New York rival which has made a habit of collapsing at the end of the season. In each of the last two seasons, the Phillies have overtaken the Mets in the final month of the season for the NL East crown. The Phillies have also made the playoffs last season, something the Yankees failed to do.
The Eagles are fresh off their victory over the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants. While the Giants took the NFC East in the regular season, the Eagles were the better team when it mattered, in the playoffs. The Birds finished with a 2-1 record against the Giants this year and won both times they played in the Meadowlands. The other New York team, the Jets, didn't play the Eagles this season but they didn't even make the playoffs, finishing with a 9-7 record, a half game worse than the Eagles record of 9-6-1 (gotta love that tie!).
The Flyers made the Eastern Conference Final last season, something neither New York NHL team has done since 1997 when the Rangers lost to the, you guessed it, Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers also recently took over first place in the Atlantic Division from the Rangers who had been in first since the beginning of the season. The Flyers currently sit just one point above the Rangers but they have played two fewer games. As for the other New York team, the Islanders, they are the worst team in hockey and I can't even remember the last time they were relevant.
The Sixers are the last Philadelphia team who is currently more successful than their New York counterpart, but they have the least to brag about. The Sixers are currently an unimpressive 3 games under .500 and are the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference while the Knicks are slightly worse at 13-22 and are the 12th seed in the East. Sixers fans don't have much to gloat about but at least Philly made the playoffs last year, something the Knicks haven't done since 2004.
As you can see, it's good to be a Philadelphia sports fan. Not only are we on top of the baseball world and one game away from the biggest stage of them all, the Super Bowl, but every Philadelphia sports team is better than our biggest rivals in New York. You could even take it a step further and say that every Philly sports team is better than every team in New Jersey as well, except for the Nets. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh still has the Penguins and Steelers so no such claims can be made about our rival on the other side of the state.
I am not sure how times could get much better for the Philly sports fan. I suppose a Super Bowl victory and a Stanley Cup would put us over the top. What a difference a year makes, before we would have been happy for just one title now we want as many as we can get. It's even sweeter to know that New York won't be winning a championship in the near future.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Friday, October 31, 2008
Chase Utley has a dirty mouth
After the incident at the All-Star game and what happened today during the victory celebration, it's clear that Chase Utley likes to throw around the F-bombs. It's really just another reason to love the guy.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The drought is over! The Phillies win it all!
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)When I first started this blog back in January, one of the first posts I wrote was titled "The Next Philly Sports Champ". In the article I discussed which of the four major sports teams had the best chance to break the championship drought that our city has suffered through. At the top of the list was the Phillies, and I thought they had a chance to win this year.
I'm so happy I was right! Anyway, now isn't the time for any detailed analysis of the game, it's time to celebrate! Thanks to all who followed the Phillies right here on this site, what a great season it's been!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2008 WORLD CHAMPS!!!!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Finally, a Philadelphia sports champion!!
(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images North America) The Soul held off a late charge by the SaberCats to knock off the defending champs. Hopefully you had quarterback Matt D'Orazio in your fantasy arena football league because he put up 302 passing yards and threw for 7 touchdowns and ran in another on his own. He was awarded with the Arena Bowl MVP award.
Congratulations, SOUL!
