It’s your fault, Philadelphia, that the Phillies have been disappointing you lately.

That’s the thought of Daily News columnist Sam Donnellon and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. Because the team brought a championship title back to Philadelphia for the first time in 25 years, the city has become like the brown-nosing suckup in the office, continually thanking and praising the team.

As Manuel said yesterday:

I notice sometimes when they’re talking to us around the dugout, they’re always talking about last year and thanking us for winning and all that. Of course, they’re enjoying the game and they love us, but . . . well, maybe they should get on us a little bit.

So go ahead, Philly. Tell your team it’s making careless mistakes. You owe it to them, especially after the ballpark inflated ticket prices following the wind. Consider it payback.

On Thursday, he’ll appear on The Late Show with David Letterman. We’ll see if he makes any predictions on this season while in New York City.

But more importantly, he’s featured in this commercial from Dick’s Sporting Goods. It gives a good laugh.

Original post from The Temple News.

CHRIS STOVER
Editor in Chief

All in good time, the saying goes.

Prior to the World Series win, The Temple News got nostalgic and pulled out issues chronicling other Phillies victories in 1980 and 1993, which you can see on Page P6.

Now, as students in Philadelphia, we’ve become immersed in Phillies Phever and can add this special issue to TTN archives for the Phils’ next win.

From the consistent fan base to those jumping on the bandwagon, it’s no secret that Philadelphia is excited. And rightfully so.

“Sports have a unique emotional component that resonates with people,” said sports and recreation management professor Aubrey Kent. “Many times, the attachment to a local team goes beyond a mere rooting interest, to become something that is embedded in a persons’ identity.”

So it’s safe to say Phillies fans have emotionally suffered for 28 years without a win in the Fall Classic. Philly sports fans as a whole haven’t had a major championship title since the 76ers in 1983. For many Temple students, this is the first major Philadelphia sports title they’ve seen.

Attending school in Philadelphia grants a sense of entitlement to adopt the hometown sports team as your own.

“The biggest benefit, though, is the intangible effect that we call ‘psychic income,’” said Kent’s colleague, professor Jeremy Jordan. “This is the feeling of goodwill generated in the community by banding together to support a common cause, and the pride and joy that is felt when the team is successful.”

Just as they did in 1980, 1983 and 1993, fans displayed their unity in the streets of Philadelphia, from Citizens Bank Park to City Hall and Main Campus to the Northeast.

“Rooting for the Phillies is different, in a way, than being a Phillies fan, the latter of which implies membership in a group that has great meaning for someone,” Jordan said. “The team then becomes an extension of ourselves, a source of vicarious achievement and pride.”

Philadelphians aren’t scared to show pride, either. When the Phillies reached the milestone of becoming the first professional sports franchise to reach 10,000 losses, both the team and the city took it in stride.
“I try to concentrate on wins,” manager Charlie Manuel said at the time. “[Ten thousand losses is] something we haven’t really talked about. Our players don’t talk about it. … I don’t really care about that, really. I’m serious.”

For many Philadelphians, it was a celebration long overdue. For others, it was the first of its kind. And for a small few, it was an excuse to destroy public and private property.

Robinson’s Luggage at the corner of Broad and Walnut streets in Center City is an example of such behavior, as overly excited fans broke through doors and looted the store.

“Personally, I think that while any damage or injury is regrettable, the reaction last night was comparatively tame,” Kent said. “Unfortunately, media coverage highlights the exceptions rather than the majority of people who celebrated responsibly.

“The negative activity that does occur, however, is hurtful not only to those involved, but plays into a negative stereotype of the city that is unfortunate for all.”

On the other hand, Philadelphia can reap positive benefits from the win, as the city has garnered national attention. Once labeled as fat and ugly, Philadelphia has been given a helping hand from the Phillies organization.

“The sports team can become part of the city’s brand and, depending on the sport and the team’s level of success, can also provide great exposure and recognition for a city if it is televised widely by being involved in something like the World Series,” Jordan said.

An energy has been brought to the city that’s been absent for too long. As a city, Philadelphians were able to unite for the 2008 postseason.

“The Phillies seem like a likable bunch of personalities and, therefore, are easy to root for,” Jordan said, “as is the city of Philadelphia, which, from a sport perspective, has been so long suffering. For the rest of the country, much like recently with the Red Sox and White Sox, people seem to like seeing loyal and deserving fans rewarded.”

It’s a reward that many Philadelphia fans hope will not take another 28 years to come again.

All in good time, the saying goes.

Chris Stover can be reached at stover@temple.edu.
]]> http://chris-stover.com/2008/11/04/for-philadelphia-championship-is-a-long-time-coming/feed/ 0 Chris Stover http://chris-stover.com/2008/08/15/whats-a-phillie/ http://chris-stover.com/2008/08/15/whats-a-phillie/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:26:44 +0000 Chris Stover http://chrisstover.wordpress.com/?p=435 ]]>

We went to the Phillies vs. Dodgers game tonight. The game itself — frustrating, annoying, boring. The Dodgers fans? Flaky (most of them, at least. I don’t mean to overgeneralize).

Some of the flaky ones were girls sitting behind us.

The Phillies have a stupid name. I mean, what’s a Phillie?

I think it’s a cheesesteak…

So what’s their mascot? A cheesesteak?

Baseball teams don’t have mascots. What’s our mascot?

Yes, and on that note, what exactly is a Dodger? One who jumps out of the way of balls?

This has been Overheard at a Phillies Game.

Duh.

The announcer introduced Chase Utley to a mostly New York audience at Yankee Stadium last night. Mets and Yankees fans dominated, as expected. But the Mets, especially, have a beef with Philly. You get what you give, I suppose.

After receiving some choice “Boos” from the audience, Utley returned some other choice words — “Boo? [Bleep] off.”

Ed. Note: Use your imagination. This is a professional blogging platform, showcasing the level of journalism the New York Times strives to meet.

He’s apologized, saying he was just joking with his pal Dan Uggla, but as many reporters have included in their stories, he’s not the first to utter that to a Mets fan. He just said it in front of a packed house and a television camera that played it for millions nationwide.

The scene itself was very entertaining, as Utley responded in his very nonchalant, laid-back way. I don’t blame him.

I blame ESPN. Mics on players and no delay? C’mon, are we as careless as Philadelphia news anchors?

It’s been commonplace for me in the past few days to read an article from the Inquirer or Daily News criticizing the Phillies’ performance and suggesting the next step.

So, as I was reading this article from DN writer Paul Hagen, one particular word stuck out to me. As a copy editor, I probably wouldn’t have let this slide (assuming the inclusion was intentional). But hence, it made it to print.

The bottom of the second inning summed up the phrustration.

I googled the term “phrustration,” and from what I could find beyond the prompts of “Did you mean frustration?,” it’s a term reserved for clever (or cliched) headlines used either a) for a play on articles criticizing Philly sports teams or b) a way to emphasize (or create) the alliteration effect with another word that actually begins with “ph.”

Is this the DN’s way of trying to make a word commonplace? If so, I want some credit.

phrustration (frŭ-strā’shən) /noun/ – the feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety, anger, disappointment and/or depression, following the inevitable failure of one of Philadelphia’s major sports teams, especially after a period of extreme optimism based on performance.

You saw it here first.

An example of the “extreme optimism” would be Kevin Millwood’s 2003 no-hitter, the second and last no-hitter at Veterans Stadium, and the last to see the light of day in Philadelphia. It’s one of those times when you remember where you were.

Damon’s Restaurant. Dinner with the family, watching the game on the jumbo screen across from our table. They were out of salmon that day. My mother wasn’t happy, but that was covered only by her anxiousness and nauseousness during Millwood’s ninth inning.

At least we have the Philadelphia Soul. For now, at least. Because as we know, all good things come to phrustration.

Photo courtesy AP.

It’s been nice not having Brett Myers around, hasn’t it?

The Phils’ latent starter, who was sent to the IronPigs after his last horrendous start, has done fairly well in his last two outings in Allentown. Is that enough to bring him back to the Phils? He thinks so.

Inquirer sports writer Kate Fagan covered Myers’ second start in Allentown last night. Her final quote – the kicker – is what I’m focusing on here.

When asked if he hoped to be back with the Phillies when the all-star break ended, Myers said, “Hoping? I’m planning on it. No hope about it.”

That’s true Myers arrogance. Do we really want that back?

By watching the team as it is, there’s a great sense of camaraderie. You can tell the guys enjoy being on a team together, something that seems to be lacking with Myers on the mound.

They (the Phillies higher-ups) stuck by him during his domestic violence incident. They stuck by him for a while as he performed inconsistently. And now, they’re sticking by him after this arrogant, you’re-nothing-without-me comment?

The Mets like pitchers with vendettas against the Phillies. See if there’s an opening there.

Photo courtesy Philly.com/The Philadelphia Inquirer

P.S. Vote for Pat Burrell for the final spot in the All-Star Game. C’mon…he’s almost out of the Majors and he’s never been there before. You can vote multiple times until 5 p.m. Thursday!

“Gee, that looks familiar,” I thought to myself. A few words, followed by a colon, followed by more words.

“Hmm…interesting setup.”

And then I read.

It seems the Phillies have plagiarized off my column. That’s right. As in the picture above, the Phillies stole the soon-to-be trademarked Cut to the Chase name for promoting second baseman Chase Utley’s All-Star lead.

OK, so it’s not trademarked. And the Phillies didn’t plagiarize. But I’m on a plagiarizing fix these days.

Regardless, I’m flattered that the Phillies have chosen to use the name of a prestigious, thoughtful column to advertise their truly unstoppable second baseman.

Next thing I know, Wheel of Fortune will be stealing the name of this blog post for a Before & After puzzle.

Make lists.

No, not lists relevant for the job at hand.  After all, it’s only Day 2.  No, make lists to challenge yourself.

First, I sat down to list the entire staff of The Temple News.  I proudly scored a 25 out of 25.

Next, I wrote down a list of the Owl Ambassadors.  I’m assuming there are also 25 of them.  If so, I’m 25 for 25.

Third, I decided to recall the entire active roster of the Philadelphia Phillies.  I did pretty well — the pitchers got me, as I forgot Condrey and Durbin.  And Jayson Werth also threw me off.  I forgot he was on the DL, and should have replaced him with both Bruntlett and Snelling.

Last – and both my proudest and most embarrassing – is a list of the on-air talent of CBS3.  And you know what?  I got every one.  I even added the two extra CW members on the list, as they occasionally report for their sister station.

Next time you’re stuck in a tall cubicle surrounded by push-pin material, make a list.  It’s the only thing that can keep you sane.