Written by Dave Homsher on Monday, 03 November 2008 Category:Sports Hits:6303

Let me be perfectly honest with you.  I never, ever, EVER thought this day would really come.  As I have whined to you many times before, I am 26 years old, and until Wednesday October 27th at 9:58 PM I had never seen any of my teams win a championship. 

Brad Lidge UNLEASHED one final, unhittable, disappearing slider and a life of frustration disappeared in an instant.  My brother, my father, and I screamed like wild hyenas and smiled so long and so big that the great feeling that overswept us made all of the painful years worth it.  After 10 minutes, my brother and I headed towards Frankford and Cottman BLARING “We are the Champions” out the window and singing along in disbelief.  We are the Champions…really?  Philadelphia?  US?  As we descended upon Northeast Philadelphia, fans flooded the streets, cars honked their horns, and for once red, and not green, was the color of choice in this city. 

The intersection of Frankford and Cottman was beyond insane.  I had been there twice before, when teams won their leagues to advance to the finals, and both times were nuts.  However, those times were MILD in comparison.  There were more people in one location than I had ever seen before.  Tens of thousands poured into the streets to celebrate the end of 25 years of frustration.  LET’S GO PHILLIES!! rang out into the night as if there was no tomorrow.  My hand shot into the air making the #1 periodically, as if guided by an invisible magnet.  Parents brought their kids out late into the night saying “Enjoy this night, because you might never see it again.”  People brought in their signs including fan favorite “Phuck Joe Buck”.  The scene was more akin to a dance club than a neighborhood.  People were packed so densely that it took about 30 minutes to push from one end to another.  One of the great nights in Philadelphia history stretched out into the night and it wasn’t until 3 hours after the final out that the crowd started to thin.   

I woke up the next day in a haze.  Did that really just happen?  It couldn’t be real.  But it was.  My town, my team won a world championship.  A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.  I stumbled to Wawa in my same clothes smelling like quite the beer and champagne mixture had been poured onto my head (which was exactly what had happened).  I picked up a stack of newspapers and wandered back home, to spend a day of rest lounging on my couch and taking in some wonderful DVR’d post game shows. 

Thursday night I drove to Manayunk to stay with my brother, so we could take the train into the city and celebrate a parade with everyone.  However, Friday morning mass transit was a complete failure, as both trains and buses flew by us without even a consideration of stopping.  So, we hopped in the car, drove into the city, and parked a few miles away.  The walk into the heart of center city was beyond anything I’ve ever seen or experienced.  People were flooding in from all over.  Philadelphia, the toughest city anywhere, was full of smiles.  Brotherly Love spread itself outwards from Broad Street, as perfect strangers high-fived and reminisced on their favorite Phillies moments as if they were lifelong friends.  When we reached city hall, the crowd was probably 150 people deep, and this was AN HOUR AND A HALF before the parade.  All my life, I’ve wanted to go to a parade on Broad Street, and now I had my chance. 

I thought there were a lot of people at Frankford and Cottman after the Phils won.  Boy was I wrong!  Broad Street had nothing but a mass of humanity as far as the eye could see.  The estimates were that 2.3 MILLION people attended the parade.  THE CITY’S RESIDENTS ONLY NUMBER 1.4 MILLION.  My heroes slowly passed by on their floats and all I could think was how lucky was I to be here?  How great was this team?  Does this team know what it just did for this city?  I’ve waited my whole life for this moment.  All the pain, the blood, the sweat, the tears were worth every minute.  I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this good in my entire life.  Tears weld up in my eyes as I saw the trophy pass by.  THE trophy.  The world series CHAMPIONS trophy.  OUR world series champions trophy. 

Although the team only was in front of me for 10-15 minutes, it felt like an eternity.  I couldn’t even scream any more.  For my entire life I had done nothing but yell for my teams, and now the championship moment I had so hoped for was here, and I was shockingly all cheered out.  So I clapped and clapped and clapped and clapped with a smile on my face so wide I thought it might stick that way.  Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

My brother and I walked back up Broad Street through a cloud of Phillies gear and just soaked it all in.  The city was one.  Everyone cheered together and exchanged high-fives in support of their champions.  What a team!  What a town!  What a week!

Word’s can’t do my feelings justice, but to quote Chase Utley on the podium –

WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! WORLD EFFING CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!

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