WORLD F****** CHAMPIONS

I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "how does any self respecting sports blog take a full 3 days to react to the first world championship it has ever experienced?" Well, you're right. Kind of. It has taken me a full three days to even sit down and realize what happened. While for most people this would rightfully be considered excessive, I argue that for any Philadelphian younger than 30, this is a remarkably fast response. When I posted on Wednesday, I was optimistic but restrained. That restraint went out the door with Jenkins' double to right. From there on, the game was simply a precursor to the greatest stretch of my phanhood. Even when the Rays threatened, I was at ease, knowing that we just had to win. Looking back, had anything gone wrong that night, I'm not sure how the Series would have ended up. That discussion, however, is for some other universe.

As Lidge was about to deliver the last pitch, I was so confident that I set my camera on video record and captured the scene in the establishment from which I watched the game. I've watched that video about 30,000 times since and it gets better every time. The release of negative energy from this city is astounding. For myself, songs sound better, construction traffic is less annoying, people don't frustrate me as much, stressful situations are less stressful, and, in general, life is better. Thursday morning, I woke up with a bit of a championship hangover and, honestly, I've never felt better. Life only got better on Friday when, for the first time in my life, waking up at the crack of dawn to catch a train was absolutely awesome.

The parade was indescribable. For me, standing on Market Street in the cold, incapable of moving more than 2 inches in either direction, and having to pee so bad that I actually peed into a cup, in the open, surrounded by complete strangers, was absolute heaven. I've never experienced anything like it and probably never will again. Center City was completely shut down by revelers, as we roamed the streets celebrating, unfettered by traffic, police, or common sense. My companions and I walked from our viewing post at 16th and Market down to South Street, enjoyed the scene there for a while, then turned north to grab lunch in Olde City. It was at a swanky little outpost called Paradigm where we dined on calamari, french onion soup, and humus, all while taking in the end of the parade (Trust me, I wanted a cheesesteak but waiting 2 hours in the line at Jim's wasn't appealing to my growling stomach). Mind you, this was a full 3 hours after we had witnessed the parade pass us by first hand. It took them so long to get from point A to point B mostly because everyone who lived remotely near the city had made the trek down just to catch a glimpse of their heroes. It was just an amazing scene. The scene was so amazing, so gratifying that SEPTA's inability to handle any kind of adversity couldn't even quell my happiness (At Market East, the rumor was that it was a 5 hour wait for a northbound train. 5 HOURS! The throng of people was so large that there was a line to even get downstairs to the platform. The platform was completely filled and some trains weren't even stopping because they had filled at Suburban Station. It was a complete melee. So much so that walking from Center City to Temple University seemed appealing, and that's just what we did. Gotta admit, the neighborhoods that lie between aren't going to be confused with Beverly Hills anytime soon).

In the end, this has been one of the best weeks of my life, definitely the best week of my life as a phan. I really feel like nothing can bring me down right now. I know this high will end and life will return to some semblance of normalcy sometime soon, but it will be different. It will be different because the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies have proven to me that it is possible for a team that I root for to win. It will be different because they have proven to me that negativity is a really unnecessary stress, in all walks of life. Thanks Phils.

Finally, while we are discussing the World Series, I would like to sound off on one thing (sorry, the Philly in me would not allow me to let this be a 100% happy-sappy-love story). Peter Gammons called this the worst World Series of recent memory. His main point for such a ridiculous statement was that the weather was terrible, from what I could gather from his rambling, somewhat incoherent, and obviously bitter arguement. It was his way of backhandedly putting down the team that beat his beloved Sox (the Rays) and the team from the city which he presumably dislikes the most aside from New York. To be honest, I thought about letting this go due to his mental handicap (no one his age can be considered sane, especially no one who nearly died from an aneurysm in the past two years), but I can't. Peter, do you honestly believe the weather would have been better in New York or Boston?? The storm that put a long pause to Game 5 pounded those cities as well. As for your arguement that baseball should hold the Series at a neutral site, do I really need to explain how that is not logistically possible? In case you need me to, I will. The reason the Super Bowl works is that fans can make a long weekend of it. There are two weeks notice and a definite amount of time that fans need to find lodging for. None of this is true with the World Series, and they can't be made to be true either. A two week layoff between the championship serieses and the World Series is indefensible and the fact that it is a Series means that it lasts an indeterminate amount of time. Sprinkle in the fact that very few people can take off a whole week of work (which would be necessary because no one wants to possibly miss an *if necessary Game 5, 6, or 7) on a week's (at most) notice and this is shaping up to be a Series attended only by corporate hacks and locals, neither of which would likely have any real rooting interest other than those of a bandwagoneer. Pretty soon, you'll have an emotionless Series unless the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, or Dodgers (in my opinion the only teams with a real national (read: bandwagon) following) are prominently involved. To me, you are essentially stealing the real essence of the World Series from the fans. It sucks enough that the Super Bowl is in these cast away locations that really only boast nice stadiums. Don't kill the Fall Classic. Peter, just because the Yankees or Red Sox weren't involved does not mean the Series sucked. It was the best thing to happen to the country's 5th largest city in a long time. Stop cryin' about your Sox and recognize a beautiful thing when you see it. Either that or just retire already. Thanks.