Radical Transparency

I found out today that David Murphy, the Philadelphia Daily News sportswriter whose Phillies blog I've been reading this season, doesn't root for the team.

He grew up a fan, but he doesn't feel right, as a professional journalist, wanting the Phillies to win.

I'm a little bit shocked. And sad. And jealous that I don't get paid to write about the Phillies every day.

So I poked around the internets a bit, kicked the tires on a couple of other Phils blogs (something I've never done before, which surprises me), and subscribed to Beerleaguer.

It'll be fun to compare.

What impressed Giuls most about last night's show was Ween's ability to wear an audience down.

I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a compliment to any other band.

Transdermal Celebration is track 3 on Quebec.

Click here to download:

Transdermal Celebration.mp3 (3221 KB)

[I originally posted the text and video below on April 18. Formatting got funky. I had to call in the Posterous founders. They found a bug and killed it. We celebrated. And then, a few days ago, after making another Phillies video, I noticed that the ninth inning rule post had disappeared. So here we are.]

By far the most important blog post I've ever made was a video response to the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series.

Here's a video response to my first game of the 2009 season...

I love baseball fans.

I'm going to try to meet some new ones at every game I ever go to.

I love it when fans sing along.

And I love it even more when they get on stage and hum the bass line.



I also love one man bands with plural names.

A bit of a silly conversation started on Ta-Nehisi Coates's blog the other day when he mentioned the fact that he's a Dallas Cowboys fan.

I commented, asking for an explanation, and, today, he responded, sparking a beauty of a comment thread.

After trying to imagine growing up without lovable home teams and reading TNC's explanation, I respect his love for the Cowboys.  I don't like it.  But I'm ok with it.  I think it's real, and I think real love for a team is something to celebrate.

Which reminds me of something one of my cousins said as we wandered around the ballpark before going in for Game 4 of the World Series.

Everyone was wearing red and chanting and singing for the Phils, and one of us noted the fact that it couldn't possibly be like it was in Philly in Tampa Bay.  Fans were probably way into it, but some of those fans were Phils fans, and that makes for a totally different dynamic.  There's tension there.  Home vs. Away.  Red vs. Blue.

In Philly there wasn't tension.  We were all Home, all Red, all Good Guys.  No Bad Guys would have come close to that pregame party.

And then came the observation.

We shouldn't be celebrating our exclusivity.  We should love the fact that there's no anger in the pregame crowd, but we should welcome Tampa Bay fans.  We should be excited to have rival fans in the house.  We should party together before the game.  We should make fun of each other during the game.  And we should party together again after the game.

We should be able to celebrate our losses as wins for other fans.

And that's a pretty powerful thought.  Mature.  Idealistic.  Symbolic of way more than professional sports.  And powerful.

Not an easy one to put into practice, however.  Certainly not in Philadelphia.  And certainly not when it pertains to the Dallas Cowboys.  But worth keeping in mind regardless.

Too excited to write.

Love and the PhilliesA postgame reaction.

I decided to use Seesmic to make this post because I think the screaming-induced rasp in my voice lends it legitimacy.

Dear Boston Red Sox Fans...With love from Philadelphia and the Phils fans.

As I walked through the turnstile into Citizens Bank Park tonight, the guy that swiped my ticket told me to enjoy the game. 

I told him to do the same.

A few steps into the stadium later, it struck me that the fact that he was working the gate at the game didn't necessarily mean he would get to go inside and watch.  In fact, if he was watching the door, maybe he wouldn't get to go in at all.

Yikes.

I was worried for him.  That would be rough to be so close to the action and not quite get to participate.

So I turned around, maneuvered back against the tide of the crowd, tapped in him on the shoulder, and asked him if he had to man the turnstile throughout the game.

Oh no, he said.  I'll be in there with you.  Someone takes over for me after the fourth inning, and I'll be running inside as soon as he arrives.

Made me smile.

As did just about EVERYTHING about the game.