Analyzing the Burrell Phenomena.
<<< Listen to the national media and you'll hear that the fans in Philadelphia
are a vicious lot. Apparently, Santa Claus is still sending out press releases about
how he was wronged by snow balls. You won't hear them talk about Pat Burrell,
though.
Burrell, who has returned Citizen's Bank Park three times in the last week, has
been the recipient of some awe inspiring adulation. On Friday (April 3rd), the
Phillies showed class by airing clips of Burrell's career in Philly before an exhibition
game. On Saturday (4th), before another exhibition game, Burrell hit a home run
off of one of the city's most popular athletes in Cole Hamel and instead of
Sometimes you can learn a lot about a town by looking at their heroes.
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somebodyisfromhere.com
The destination destination.
being disappointed in the pitcher known as Hollywood, they cheered the guy in the opposing uniform. On Wednesday (8th), he
stopped back to pick up his World Series ring and received yet another deafening ovation.
You don't have to look too far back to find another athlete who has made an equally popular exit. Brian Dawkins recently left town
after all.
Dawkins and Burrell have gained their popularity in different ways. Dawkin's path to immortality was always clear. Playing football at a
Hall of Fame caliber in front of sold out crowds will do that for a player.
What has made Burrell's ride so different is that it appeared for awhile that, he too, might have that kind of career. He was drafted
first overall and quickly made his way through the minor leagues. Once he was in the Show, he didn't show signs of slowing. In 2000,
his first year, he showed the ability to hit in the clutch while going 9 for 11 with the bases loaded with two home runs. Stats are always
better when denigrating the Met's so try this one on for size. In his first three at bats against New York's closer Armando Benitez he
hit three home runs. He seemed destined to be a star in the making.
All these years later, he left the city without having participated in even a single All Star game. In 2003, he hit a dismal .209. Many a
player would have left town or folded under the weight of those unmet expectations.
So what explains Philadelphia's love for Burrell? What makes him so special? Sure, he was an important right handed bat, but he was
probably only the fourth most important batter in the lineup overall behind Rollins, Utley, and Howard.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Not if you ask Adam Eaton who was booed when he returned for his ring.
There certainly something to be said about going out on top. You could do worse than hitting one of the most important balls in the
World Series deciding game. It's more than that, though. It's genuine affection.
It didn't hurt that he bought a half page in the March 13th in the Inquirer and Daily News calling it "An open letter to the great Philly
fans and a great sports franchise," acknowledging "...while at times there were struggles, I realize it was well worth it..."
Still, the answer might be as simple as he figured out the city. Maybe it was because his Center City residence helped him keep his
finger on the pulse of the area. More likely he just enjoyed the city. While Jimmy Rollins called people front runners, Burrell was
telling people he loved the city and didn't want to leave. As Donovan McNabb perpetually put his foot in his mouth, Burrell would just
tell people he loved the city and didn't want to leave.
Philadelphia is not a complex town. Like us and hit a double when you can.
In the end, maybe Pat the Bat and Philly get along so well because they could relate. Having not won a championship since 1983,
Philadelphians understood how hard it was to actually win. It was fitting then that Burrell, with his extended slumps, was never one to
make the game look easy.
>>> "It's all jazz," is stated a few times in The Soul of Baseball by ... oh, well, somebodyisfromhere.com
will get to that later...
Somebodyisfromhere.com isn't sure what makes something a travel book (or movie, or whatever). Is it about movement? Is it
about obscure locations? Or is it travel because somebodyisfromhere.com is there and you're not? (If he were to write about
his home town and you aren't there, would that be travel writing in the internet age?)
...In The Soul of Baseball, Buck O'Neil, a sage former Negro Leaguer, is followed for a year by sports
journalist Joe Posnanski as O'Neil promoted the Negro League and by extension the museum about the
subject.
Full Page: The Soul of Baseball
The Soul Of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America.
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MORE SPORTS.
<<< So you know when you bet too much on a certain color in roulette.
You hope for red. You secretly prepare for black
And the little ball lands on green.
That was the atmosphere in Philadelphia last Monday night as the
potential clinching World Series game against Tampa was postponed for
rain.
It was the moment of which the city with an inferiority complex and a
penchant for losing, realized that this wasn't going to be easy. And it
was if the whole crowd said: Crap, I did NOT see that coming.
Two days later, though, the game resumed and the final few innings
were played. It was a quick conclusion to a short series putting an end
to a 25 year long championship draught for the city's four major sports
teams
Full Page: Winners.
>>> It all started with free T-shirts, beer, and endless possibilities only to conclude in
missed opportunities, disappointment, and bitter resentment. In other words, College
Night with the Phillies turned out to be pretty much like college itself.
In the past year I've been fortunate enough to attend three very different sports, in
three very different stadiums, with three teams in very different positions. However,
one variable remains a constant in the City of Brotherly Love. The fans are as
passionate as ever and are, for an outsider, worth the price of attendance even if the
teams are not.
Full Page: Losers.
SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT THE ANIMALS, BUT PHILLY FANS KEEP THINGS INTERESTING.
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<<< Southwest Airlines is like the Catholic schools of airlines. They run things a
little differently, but in the end they are pretty efficient. On
Somebodyisfromhere.com's flight a stewardess was singing about the descent or,
you know, god knows what, and his ear felt as if it was legitimately going to fall off
from the pressure. It was one of those sensations in which
Somebodyisfromhere.com not only questioned whether he wanted to be a
conversational travel writer any longer, but he also whether he ever wanted to
leave his town, his house, his bedroom, or his bed ever again. Then he looked out
his window towards Tampa and to his surprise he looked down at fireworks. As if
sacrificing one sense for another, vision for hearing, he remembered why he
traveled and was confident that this would be a good trip indeed.
Florida has always perpetuated itself on the appearance of providing an alternate universe. Look at Disney; it's based on the premise in
which there's not only a society of constant happiness but in this jubilant world there would be super sized rodents wearing gloves.
Well the same can be said about the Gulf Shores. Only In this alternate universe, Philadelphia is a friendly place where the fans feel no
pressure and the weather is always nice. A rainy morning cleared up in Clearwater, the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies,
just in time for Somebodyisfromhere.com to catch the Phillies/Red Sox exhibition game on Sunday.
The Phillies played most of their starters getting primed for the rest of the season. The Sox were chose to sit some players due to either
injuries or while getting last looks at players before cuts.
Full Page: Spring Training.
2009.