WORLD SERIES!!!

In all honesty, just typing those two words doesn't feel real yet. I admit, I've been the most pessimistic Phils fan around this season, but, truthfully, it feels really good to have your pessimism pay off in the way your heart hopes it will, not in the way your logic tells you is most likely. I have to admit, I'm extremely excited. I'm not even sure that describes how I feel. I realized tonight that the last time I saw the Phils play a World Series game, my little brother was an infant. That put it in perspective for me. Since then, every other Philadelphia team has made a championship game or series. Even Penn St. has gone undefeated, and been completely ripped off of a title, since then. I wish I could write a coherent description of my feelings and predictions for the World Series right now, but I can't. Asking me to do that would be like asking a marathon runner to do a victory lap... can't do it now, but will definitely do it tomorrow.

Since yesterday's post, I've talked about the Birds, Phils, and Penn St. with so many people that I had so much material to work with tonight, but right now it's all out the door. Even my most responsible friend, who I honestly believe would go to bed on time with an impending nuclear winter on his hands, stayed up late to bang pots and pans with us. Granted, it turned out extremely poorly for him as he somehow sliced his finger, but the moral of the story remains the same. Philadelphia is on Phillies Ecstacy.

Really, right now, what happens next doesn't matter. I recently explained to someone that I liked the final Sopranos episode because it was as if the Eagles made the Super Bowl and then the NFL promptly went out of business. You'll never feel the feeling of winning, but, then again, you'll never feel the terrible feeling of losing either. It's pretty much the best case scenario short of winning the game. Well, right now, I'm in last-episode-of-the-Sopranos Land. I don't really care, right now, what happens next because my Phillies are in the World Series. I don't have to convince myself to root for an underdog or a team for which one of my favorite players plays. I get to root for my team, my city. I think the Eagles put it best when they made their motto "one team, one city, one dream". If there has ever been a more appropriate quote for right now, I would love to see it. This is our team, the same team that has put us through more than any one fan should put up with in terms of losing (10,000+ and counting). This is our city, the same city that cautiously, yet consistently, throws itself behind its teams with all we have to offer, despite the fact that we've been let down more often than not (26 years and counting). Finally, this is our dream, a chance at a championship. Here we are, Philadelphia, on the cusp on breaking the curse of Billy Penn, and here's to hoping the Phillies can break the curse and open the flood gates, making Philly the City of Champions.

The predictions, the analysis, and the logic can wait. For now, let's enjoy the situation we have on our hands. The Philadelphia Phillies are the National League Champions! So relax, Philly, we've made it, and judging from our general attitude towards our chances of winning a championship in any sport, things can only go up from here. Go Phils!