Ya Gotta Believe!!!!

I’m 47 years old, and a lifelong Philadelphia sports fanatic. It’s been 25 years since a Philly pro team won a world championship. In my lifetime, there have only been 5 of them (2 by the Flyers in 1974 and 1975, 2 by the 76’ers in 1967 and 1983, and the Phillies in 1980). Consequently, a true Philly sports fan is defined by pain and suffering and heartbreak. We know suffering, and we know heartbreak. “There’s always next year” is the constant refrain. In 1973, the 76’ers went 9-73 for the season, the worst record for a professional team ever. The Phillies are best known as the only team in the history of professional sports to roll up 10,000 losses, a dubious record of futility at best. The other defining moment in Phillies history is the epic collapse of 1964, when they had a 6.5 game lead with 12 to play, lost 10 in a row, and finished third. That’s also not a happy memory.

With such a history of heartache, it’s often hard to get excited about it when teams do have good seasons. A few years ago, when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, I was very blase about it, because I knew they weren’t going to win. It’s hard not to be terribly cynical about it when you’ve been disappointed so many times.

At the same time, few memories of my youth are more vivid than watching Tug McGraw strike out Willie Wilson to end the 1980 World Series and the joyous chaos that erupted as the Phightin’ Phils won the only championship in franchise history. I was 19 years old, and I always thought that there would be more such moments. I was wrong.

Last night, for only the sixth time in the 125 year history of the Philadelphia Phillies, they won the National League pennant and are headed to the World Series! Completing an utter domination of a scrappy Los Angeles Dodgers team, the Phillies won 5-1 behind the dominant pitching of Cole Hamels, Ryan Madsen, and Brad Lidge and slammed the door on the rest of the National League.

Somewhere, the late, great Tug McGraw’s Irish eyes are twinkling this morning, he’s patting his heart as he always did after a narrow escape, and he’s saying “YA GOTTA BELIEVE!”

This time, I do.