The video above tells you all you need to know about how Phillies fans felt when their team won the World Series last night. The scene starts with the final pitch at Vesuvio at 8th & Fitzwater, marches down South Street and ends up at celebration ground zero: Broad Street. If you weren’t there, you gotta see this!

Thanks to Don Kahler for the amazing images.

Congratulations to the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies! GPTMC’s Roger Estes had this account of the celebration on Broad Street last night:

We came up on Broad Street, walking east on Spruce Street until we saw the biggest impromptu street party ever. On our way we heard horns beeping and people with their heads out the windows screaming.  Pedestrians were giving us high fives and yelling “Go Phils” at the top of their lungs. It was a surprise holiday last night in Philadelphia, the likes which can only happen when the Phillies win the World Series. I think it is safe to say the Curse of William Penn has been lifted, with big thanks to the people who put the second statue of him on top of the Comcast Center. Why didn’t anyone think of that sooner?

When we got to Broad, I posed with my posse for some photos with City Hall and a few thousand very excited people as a backdrop. Once that was over I made a break for it, heading directly to the heart of the action - Broad and Walnut. This is where I took the photos you see here. It was so crowded at some points that I had just enough space for my feet, but as you can see, it was nothing but positive after last nights game. Fans waved flags and played horns. It was pandemonium like none I have seen before. It was a great night in Philadelphia! GO PHILS!

Photos by Roger Estes for GPTMC

Local author and life-long Phillies fan Jen Miller talks about growing up with the Phils.

Phil talks about showing Phillies pride even after a tough loss. He won’t be heading to the parade if/when the Phillies win the World Series, but he will be smiling from ear-to-ear for a looooong time.

Roger Estes talks about what it takes to put a smile on the face of Philadelphia Phillies fans, describing the “smile so big it rips your face in half.” Wow.

Ellen Kolodzie and Ann McKnight talk about the family tradition of Phillies support through the noise of pots and pans. Moral of the story: It’s OK to bang pots and pans for the Phillies. You don’t have to feel ashamed anymore–not that you ever did.

This is it, boys and squirrels. All those years of Philadelphia fans’ grief and despair, those 26 seasons ending just shy of October or, in 1993, left just shy of glory — they all sit on the brink of catharsis.

The Phillies, our beloved Phillies, need one game to win the World Series. And, with a commanding 3-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays, they have three games to do it — starting tonight.

If you missed the two games this weekend, goodness gracious. Game 3 was a nail-biter in the truest sense, all the way up to the bases-loaded, two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth, game-winning hit by Carlos Ruiz. I mean, c’mon — that’s the stuff that Little League dreams are made of. With that, the Phils took a 2-1 lead in the series and us Philadelphians took to the streets to celebrate. Honestly, you could hear the horns honking until 6 a.m.

And then in Game 4, the Phils opened up the offensive floodgates. Jimmy Rollins went 3-5. Jayson Werth homered. Ryan Howard homered — twice. Even pitcher Joe Blanton homered. After the slugging barrage was complete, the final score was 10-2.

Which brings us to now. We have a two-game cushion, some white-hot bats in our arsenal and Cole Hamels ready to take the mound at 8:30 tonight. The ball is clearly in Philadelphia’s court. Loyal fans, the time is nigh.

The big question is, where are you going to be when the first pitch is thrown? As for me, I’m thinking South Philadelphia. Somewhere where the TV is crisp, the local beer is flowin’ and the eyes are on the prize.

And when the final out is recorded, get ready to paint the town Phillies Red. If you’re like me, you’ve been ready for a long, long time.

With sports teams, sometimes it’s not where you start, but where you end up. Best known for her work on ForkYou and Slashfood, blogger Marisa McClellan tells her story of growing up an LA Dogers fan and moving to Philadelphia and becoming a Phillies fan.

Nancy Kolb, President and CEO of the wonderful Please Touch Museum and life-long Phillies fan, talks about what makes Philadelphia such a great sports town.

Please Touch Museum
Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park
4231 Avenue of the Republic
(formerly North Concourse Drive)
Philadelphia, PA 19131
215-581-3181
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/

Who’s a true Phillies fan? Mary van Ogtrop is!

Scoops from streettalkin.com was at the Phillies World Series rally at City Hall yesterday, and he asked the pertinent question: “Where are you going to watch the Phillies games?”

Chickies & Petes
http://www.chickiesandpetes.com

T-Hogan Pub
5109 Rochelle Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19128

Mcfadden’s Philadelphia
461 N 3rd street
Philadelphia, PA 19123

It was a sea of Phillies Red at City Hall’s Dilworth Plaza today, where Mayor Michael Nutter led the Phillies Phaithful in a pep rally of Phanatic-sized proportions. (For my part, I wore a red Phillies hat, red heels (it’s a workday, after all) and a Mike Schmidt jersey, upon which several authentic ketchup stains serve as red badges of courage from Phillies games gone by.)

The stage was set: A humongous, inflatable red Phillies jersey presided over the ceremony, red-tinted water spouted from the LOVE Park fountain, the Phillie Phanatic mugged for the hundreds of cameras and stole kisses from the Phillies Ballgirls, and absolutely no Phillies cap was to be seen on Billy Penn (thanks but no thanks to that curse!). Thousands of fans crammed the space, from the pink-Phillies-hat-wearing toddler in front of me to the elder Phillies gentlemen who write out scorecards for every game.

Unlike last year’s rally, this one didn’t include the Phillies players. Why not? They’re in Tampa Bay, getting ready for Game 1 of the World Series. Our mission at City Hall was simple but loud: make sure the Phillies can hear us in Tampa Bay, just like they’ve been hearing us at Citizens Bank Park all season.

The rally started off with a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the crowd instinctively knowing to sing, “Well it’s root, root, root for the Phillies.” (The Whiz Kids Band is serving double duty today, also playing at the Bellevue’s Pep Rally tonight at 5 p.m. Don’t miss it!)

Then Mayor Michael Nutter bounded onto the stage, dressed to the nines in a red hat, red jacket and red tie. “We’ve got one more series to go,” he said, “and it’s for everything.” Massive applause after that. When he started the chant of “Four more games! Four more games!” we were a hootin’ and hollerin’ machine.

To top it all off, Mayor Nutter announced some great news for the ticket-less: 18 World Series tickets will be raffled off to the lucky fans who can answer this question: What is the main ingredient in Shane Victorino’s favorite dish?

To enter, send an email to philliesticketraffle@gmail.com with your answer, name, address and phone number included in the body of the email. The raffle drawing takes place on Friday, October 24 at noon. Good luck!!

**Photos by B. Lukas for uwishunu
And Phillies, yeah, um, good luck to you too.

Photo by M. Kennedy for GPTMC

Hey, Phillies fans! Leave the drab clothes at home— it’s time to wear your Phillies Red! For the duration of the World Series, the Fightin’ Phils need you to wear red and only red. To work, to school, to the store — wherever you’re going, make sure you’re showing your Phillies pride.

You don’t need to have a scarlet Hamels shirt or Phils cap — anything red will do. That means red shirts, red jackets, red hats, red earrings, red pocket protectors, you name it! And now that we know we’re not playing Boston, feel free to wear red socks, too. Go Phils!!

There’s a pep rally at City Hall today from 12-1 p.m. Mayor Nutter will be there, so head out on your lunch break and show your support for the Fightin’ Phils!

For more Phillies fun, visit gophila.com/phillies

Photo by M. Kennedy for GPTMC

October. Here in Philadelphia, that usually means slightly runny noses, thousands of figures scurrying around the city in oddly shaped, puffy jackets and an incessantly somber chant of “maybe next year.”
Not this October. Because, while the runny noses and puffy jackets remain, all thoughts are on the here and now.

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the World Series.

And this October, you can feel it — the winds of change are blowing through Philly sports history.
You could feel it when pitcher Brett Myers withstood a nine-pitch at-bat (as a batter!) to draw a walk, ultimately leading to Shane Victorino’s epic, NLDS Game 2-winning grand slam.

You could feel it every time Brad Lidge took the mound — even when he took us through an emotional rollercoaster ride en route to the win, each pitch another hammer pang on our last nerves. You could feel it then.

You could feel it when Matt Stairs lugged his 40 year-old frame to the batter’s box in the 8th inning of NLCS Game 4. And you could certainly feel it when he slugged the baseball over the Right Field fence, giving the Phils the win and enough momentum to win the National League Pennant.

And once that Pennant was securely ours, you could feel it every time you ran into a fellow fan on Broad Street, the shouts of “Go Phils!” ringing like a handshake.

Tomorrow, the Fightin’ Phils are taking on the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 1 of the World Championship of baseball. After a few days in the Sunshine State, they’ll pack on the turtlenecks and sweatshirts for October baseball in Philadelphia. We’ll be there. And the chill to the air at Citizens Bank Park will feel juuuuuust right.

It’s time to root the Phillies to victory at the World Series! The Bellevue will hold a rally for the team at 5 p.m. Wednesday, October 22 in the main lobby of the 1904 building at Broad and Walnut Streets. The Whiz Kids Band will perform, Phillies ballgirls will be handing out rally towels, and there will be free pretzels. Enter a raffle to win Phillies gear all day with the winners announced at 5 p.m.

Following the rally fans are invited to watch the game at the XIX Bar. Cheer on the Phillies while enjoying half-priced cocktails and craft brews during happy hour, from 5pm - 7pm.

JL Sullivan’s will also offer $3 Miller Lite bottles as well as their 25 cent wings starting at 5 p.m.

The Bellevue
200 S Broad St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
www.bellevuephiladelphia.com