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somebodyisfromhere.com
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The destination destination.
November.
| A Boo-tiful Thing. |
>>> 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
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
Just two days after that, on Halloween(1), the team known for negative(2) responses, dressed up like winners (see this
paragraph for a wicked explanation of above's clever double meaning title).
Somebodyisfromhere.com, however, didn't get to see the parade. Sure he had tickets to attend the event at the Citizen's
Bank Ballpark. Heck, he even paid for the free tickets. Unfortunately, he was busy standing on line at one place or another.
Like everybody else.
You see the city and its local media encouraged the masses to take public transportation. Somebodyisfromhere.com was at
his local train station for over two hours waiting for a train that was scheduled to come every hour. Two trains did come, but
they were full and sped past us without stopping. One man in the crowd, watched the gigantic steel cars pass substituting
for the floats going down Broad Street and said, "This is about the worst parade I've ever seen." The ordeal became so
discouraging that Somebodyisfromhere.com remembered a scene in The War of the Worlds in which a train sped down the
tracks on fire. Nothing would have surprised him
Somebodyisfromhere.com finally boarded a train and took it to the City Hall area where he had to make a connection.
Underground he spent an hour waiting for the subway before the loud speakers explained the subway was no longer going
in that direction.
So back above ground, where people walk erect and the sun still shines, he had missed the parade. He saw the mess and
the euphoria. The bars were crowded so he went to one called Time and two places known as The Irish Pub looking for
other folks he knew stashed around the city.
On TV, the fans cheered the ceremony that was taking place at the stadium. There were cheers for the young men who
played the games. There was the guy nicknamed Hollywood who was the MVP of the World Series (and the series before
that). There was another who cursed on live TV for the second time this season. There was MVP from two years ago who
could potentially win again this year. There was last year's MVP who taunted the Mets for no reason other than he could
(maybe he's understanding the city better after all).
However, the stars of the show were the lifers. The guys that have seen it all. Sure amongst the players there were guys
that had been around forever who hadn't made it this far. Jamie Moyer lead the list along with Matt Stairs, Geoff Jenkins,
and even Pat Burrell.
Charlie Manuel managed the feisty bunch. He had a playing career in both the US and in Japan. He first managed with the
Cleveland Indians before being fired. Later, he accepted the job in Philadelphia where he garnered the reputation of being
a players coach. He has become a hero in the city as because he is looked at as a person who has earned it and just as
importantly, he appears to be enjoying it.
However, the day belonged to the master of ceremonies, Hall of Famer Harry Kalas. In a world where even your favorite
players are mercenaries, the organization's most beloved figure might be their announcer who's been with the team for
decades. The fans have related to Kalas for years. His calls are both knowledgeable and polite, but more importantly he
gets excited like everybody else. The listener gets invested in his calls because he cares about the game just as did when
he first started whether they win or lose. Just like us
paragraph for a wicked explanation of above's clever double meaning title).
Somebodyisfromhere.com, however, didn't get to see the parade. Sure he had tickets to attend the event at the Citizen's
Bank Ballpark. Heck, he even paid for the free tickets. Unfortunately, he was busy standing on line at one place or another.
Like everybody else.
You see the city and its local media encouraged the masses to take public transportation. Somebodyisfromhere.com was at
his local train station for over two hours waiting for a train that was scheduled to come every hour. Two trains did come, but
they were full and sped past us without stopping. One man in the crowd, watched the gigantic steel cars pass substituting
for the floats going down Broad Street and said, "This is about the worst parade I've ever seen." The ordeal became so
discouraging that Somebodyisfromhere.com remembered a scene in The War of the Worlds in which a train sped down the
tracks on fire. Nothing would have surprised him
Somebodyisfromhere.com finally boarded a train and took it to the City Hall area where he had to make a connection.
Underground he spent an hour waiting for the subway before the loud speakers explained the subway was no longer going
in that direction.
So back above ground, where people walk erect and the sun still shines, he had missed the parade. He saw the mess and
the euphoria. The bars were crowded so he went to one called Time and two places known as The Irish Pub looking for
other folks he knew stashed around the city.
On TV, the fans cheered the ceremony that was taking place at the stadium. There were cheers for the young men who
played the games. There was the guy nicknamed Hollywood who was the MVP of the World Series (and the series before
that). There was another who cursed on live TV for the second time this season. There was MVP from two years ago who
could potentially win again this year. There was last year's MVP who taunted the Mets for no reason other than he could
(maybe he's understanding the city better after all).
However, the stars of the show were the lifers. The guys that have seen it all. Sure amongst the players there were guys
that had been around forever who hadn't made it this far. Jamie Moyer lead the list along with Matt Stairs, Geoff Jenkins,
and even Pat Burrell.
Charlie Manuel managed the feisty bunch. He had a playing career in both the US and in Japan. He first managed with the
Cleveland Indians before being fired. Later, he accepted the job in Philadelphia where he garnered the reputation of being
a players coach. He has become a hero in the city as because he is looked at as a person who has earned it and just as
importantly, he appears to be enjoying it.
However, the day belonged to the master of ceremonies, Hall of Famer Harry Kalas. In a world where even your favorite
players are mercenaries, the organization's most beloved figure might be their announcer who's been with the team for
decades. The fans have related to Kalas for years. His calls are both knowledgeable and polite, but more importantly he
gets excited like everybody else. The listener gets invested in his calls because he cares about the game just as did when
he first started whether they win or lose. Just like us
| With new content weekly, Somebodyisfromhere.com takes a look at travel albeit from the perspective of somebody who probably watched a little too much TV as a kid (or yesterday). The site doubles as a venue in which you can share stories or pictures from your vacations because, let's face it, your friends are sick of hearing about it. |
| What did I forget? Tell me at somebodyisfromhere.com or on my myspace page. |
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