Dan Guttenplan
I first discovered my love for sports — and more specifically the Philadelphia Phillies — in the mid-1980s growing up in Wilmington, Del. With a parent-imposed bedtime of 7 or 8 p.m., I remember routinely catching the opening innings of midweek games on television before I retired to my room.
With a small AM radio by my bedside, I'd listen to legendary Philadelphia sportscaster Harry Kalas call the remainder of the game. I never fell asleep before the final out — my heart pumping whenever a Phillies player moved into scoring position.
Being a Philadelphia sports fan hasn't been easy since those days. As has been well documented and discussed since the Phillies earned the right to play for a World Series title last Wednesday, no Philadelphia professional sports team has won a title since 1983. The Phillies last won a title in the year of my birth —1980.
I can't say I have any memories of those titles. Never have I seen a parade down Broad Street in Philadelphia. In fact, I've attended three or four Duck Boat parades in Boston to recognize pro sports team's titles, one inadvertently after returning from an Eagles loss to the Patriots in Jacksonville in 2004. Not good times.
Like many Philadelphia sports fans, I've been an emotional wreck for the past week. We've been this close to capturing a title several times since 1983, and we know the pain of falling short all too well. I just fielded a call from my best friend from home. He wanted to know who I thought should serve as the Phillies designated hitter this series against Tampa Bay should a left-handed Rays pitcher start the game. So, yes, we're finding productive ways to expend our nervous energy.
As a Philly fan, I understand the negative stigma associated with our fan base. Is it fair? Probably. But is all of the negativity and booing merited? Perhaps, with a few obvious exceptions (i.e. violence toward opposing fans).
I remember attending games to see my favorite player Mike Schmidt, a first-ballot Hall of Famer who always seemed to fall short of Philly fans' expectations. They wanted multiple titles from the best all-around third baseman of all-time. He provided one.
When I was 12 or 13, I remember a friend's father telling me about the way Philadelphia would come together if a team won a title. The championship parade would be one of the best days of any true fan's life. Sixteen years later, we're still waiting.
In seventh-grade, my English teacher asked the entire class to write an essay on anything we felt passionate about. I wrote about how the 1993 Phillies would win the World Series thanks to a cast of blue-collar, lunch-pail players like Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk, Darren Daulton, Curt Schilling and Mitch Williams. Those Phillies made a historic run from last place in 1992 to the World Series in 1993. It came down to Game 6 against the Toronto Blue Jays, when Joe Carter belted a walk-off home run to seal the Series. I remember my father told me the next day that if "The Wild Thing" Mitch Williams had recorded that save in Game 6, there was no way the Phillies would've lost Game 7.
The late 1990s were tough years for Phillies fans. Our marquee player, Scott Rolen, looked like the next Mike Schmidt after getting drafted and developed by the Phillies organization. After years of playing for below-average teams, he turned down a lucrative long-term contract and demanded a trade to St. Louis, where he signed a lesser contract and called St. Louis the best baseball city in the world.
In 1997, the Phillies drafted a player they believed to be the future of the organization — J.D. Drew — with the second overall pick of the draft. He refused to sign with the Phillies, instead choosing to sit out an entire season so he could re-enter the draft in 1998. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals, so he also had a chance to play in the "best baseball city."
In the last 10 years, Philadelphia has transformed into a football town. From 2001 to 2004, the Eagles reached four consecutive NFC Championship games, which is one step shy of the Super Bowl. They lost in the NFC Championship game the first three years. In 2003, I attended the NFC Championship, which also served as the closing of Veteran's Stadium when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won what seemed to be their first-ever game in below-freezing temperatures. A depleted Philadelphia fan base watched the Buccaneers go on to win the Super Bowl.
In 2004, the Eagles finally reached the Super Bowl and lost to your New England Patriots. The Eagles seemed to have the game under control in the first half only to watch Donovan McNabb struggle to keep his lunch down in the closing quarter.
These days, Philadelphia is swinging back in the direction of a baseball town. Fans who are constantly prepared for the worst and will boo after the game's first strike are now finding reason for optimism in young standouts Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Career Philly veterans like Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell seem to understand how badly their fans crave the elusive title. It seems like the perfect mix. If ever a team is going to end the 25 years of frustration, it's this one.
We as Philly fans have done many things to direct negative attention to ourselves over the years. Our football stadium has a criminal court in the basement, and our fans once cheered a career-ending injury to hated Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin as he lay motionless on the field. Our baseball fans once threw D batteries at JD Drew as he stood in left field at Veteran's Stadium and routinely booed the greatest third baseman of all-time. Sad times for Philly fans, and impossible actions to defend.
But if my friend's father was right when I was 13, maybe a championship will change the way Philly fans view sports. We can go back to listening to games on AM radio, expecting the best rather than fearing the worst. I hope the Phillies can end 25 years of frustration. As Philly sports fans, hope has kept us going for 25 years.
Dan Guttenplan is the sports editor of The Daily News. E-mail him at dguttenplan@newburyportnews.com.
