The Phillies Win a Championship For Philadelphia
World Series Champs Break 25-Year Drought in City of Brotherly Love
Nov 2, 2008
A little more than 25 years ago, Julius Erving and Moses Malone led the Philadelphia 76ers to a four game sweep over Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. It was a monumental victory over basketball's team of the decade, but it wasn't something that had come out of the blue. After all, the Sixers had been in the Finals four times in six years.
Nor was success in other sports a foreign concept to Philadelphia. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975, and reached the Finals again in 1980. The Phillies made the playoffs five times in six years between 1976 and 1981, and took the home the World Series title in 1980. Even the Eagles made a Super Bowl, for god's sake. One could say that the decade between 1974 and 1983 marked a Golden Age in Philadelphia sports.
And it all came to an end the night the Sixers knocked off the Lakers. For the next quarter of a century, the City of Brotherly Love would endure one of the worst city-wide championship droughts in sports history. Not one of their four major teams could bring home a title in 25 years. That's 100 seasons of futility.
Several Close Calls During the 25 Years
Sure, there some close calls. Storm clouds promising to end the drought and slake the thirst of the faithful occasionally drifted over the city. An end to the misery always seemed just a thunderclap away. In 1987 and again in 1997, the Flyers reached the NHL Finals, but lost each time. The Sixers made the Finals against the Lakers in 2001, and lost that series in five games. The Eagles put up one hell of fight against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, but, alas, they just couldn't get it done, losing 24-21.
The 1993 Phillies made perhaps the most memorable championship run of any team during the dry, dark years. That group of bearded, big-bellied, hard-living loonies were just one out away from tying the Series at three games apiece on October 23, 1993. Everyone knows what happened next: Joe Carter hit only the second walk-off homer in World Series history, a shot that won the game and the World Series, and crushed the hearts and hopes of millions of Philadelphia Phanatics.
Even the success of the Phillies last year, when they won their first division title in fifteen years, didn't take away the sting: after all, the Phils got swept out of the NLDS by the Colorado Rockies faster than Republicans have been jumping off the Sarah Palin bandwagon.
Finally, the Phillies win a World Series
But this year was different. Although the Phillies started off slowly, by the month of May they had established themselves as a serious contender for the National League pennant. Led by their trio of perennial All-Stars -- Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins -- the team fought tooth and nail all season long, and finally captured the National League East title on the second to last day of the season. In doing so, they won 13 of their final 16 games.
In his speech to the fans after the Phillies clinched the division, Manager Charlie Manuel told listeners that "we wanna win ya the World Series." Apparently, Old Charlie and his team meant it, because the Phillies ran over C.C. Sabathia and the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series, 3 games to 1. They were even more impressive in the NLCS, taking out Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
The win set the stage for a World Series matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that had come out of nowhere to dominate the American League in 2008. The Rays won 97 games, made quick work of the White Sox in the ALDS and then put Red Sox Nation to rest for the 2008 season by beating Boston in seven games. The Rays victory over the Sox encouraged oddsmakers to make the young team the betting favorite to win the Series.The Phillies proved the oddsmakers wrong.
Although the final game's two-day suspension created a good deal of tension and excitement, the truth is that this Series belonged to the Phillies. They desrved ti win it. They had the better team. They had better starting pitching, stronger defense, a deeper and more reliable bullpen, and significantly more power. Had they been able to hit better with runners in scoring position during the first three games, the Fall Classic could have turned into a massacre.
Nevertheless, on October 29, 2008, at approximately 9:58 p.m., closer Brad Lidge struck out Tampa's Eric Hinske to record the final out. He fell to his knees in disbelief and could be seen uttering the words "Oh My God!" just moments before he was tackled by about 5,000 pounds of teammates.
The Phillies were World Champions. The City of Brothely Love was finally off the hook.
Perhaps second baseman Chase Utley expressed the joy, delight, and utter disbelief of the entire city when he opened his startling speech at the Phillies parade with: "World Champions! World F---ing Champions!!!!!!!"
Anyone who has lived in Philly for the past 25 years can surely forgive Chase for the profanity. That sort of frustration, once released, often yields some unpredictable behavior. So give the guy a break.
Congratulations Philadelphia.
