You Gotta Believe

"One strike away, nothing-and-two the count to Hinske. Fans on their feet, Brad Lidge stretches . . . the pitch . . . swing and a miss! Struck him out! . . . The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of Baseball!

"Brad Lidge does it again and stays perfect for the 2008 season, 48-for-48 in save opportunities for the 2008 season, 48-for-48 in save opportunities . . . and let the city celebrate! Let the 48-hour wait diminish the euphoria of this moment and the celebration . . .

I thought this day would never come. I thought I'd never hear Harry Kalas speak those words above. I remember being twelve years old, laying on the bottom bunk of my bunkbeds watching the Phillies lose the world series in 1993. I felt so confident they would win and we'd get to celebrate a victory. Then Joe Carter hit that home run. I remember the 76ers making it to the NBA Finals in 2001, the Flyers losing three games in a row to lose the conference finals to the Devils, and the Eagles losing the Superbowl in 2003. I thought that I may never experience a championship while I was living in Philadelphia. Part of me believed in the William Penn curse. I watched every morning as they constructed the Comcast building. When I heard Comcast was going to place a miniature statue of William Penn on top of their builing, I thought we might have a chance. The Flyers went a few rounds in the playoffs and the Phillies had a great team coming back from making the playoffs the year before.

This year it finally happened. 2008...

We went out to the South Philly Bar and Grill to watch the games. It was a great time and probably the only time I'll ever get away with ordering a beer to shake up to spray. I figured that was okay cause the owner of the place was standing on the bar doing the same thing with champagne. After the dissapointment of not celebrating on Monday night everyone let loose. The bar cleared out in about 15 minutes, and we headed up to Broad St. People were parading up and down the street, hopping on cars, honking their horns, lighting off fireworks and being rowdy. It was an amazing sight and am so excited that I was able to experience that and only have to walk 6 blocks home.