Rooting

Just a brief post to note that with the first game of the World Series running tonight I'm in the highly unusual position (for me) of caring one way or the other. We'll have it on here, and as with the last several National League games I'll likely be watching some of it.

The difference this year? That it matters to several people that the Phillies are in it, and hopefully will win.

Two are women who don't know each other, but who both happen to be longtime Phillies fans and also happen to be in late stages of metastasized colon cancer - one of whom is the mother of a friend since the age of 5, the other the mother of a co-worker. Another two are father and daughter - my father-in-law and wife - who are enjoying a re-connection through the pennant race. She, the eldest child, was as close as he came to having a son, though the years have seen them drift apart in terms of being in on something like this.

Am I going to become a baseball fan? Highly unlikely. Still, I can understand some of the charm and even if the concept of rooting for "our" team continues to elude me I can at least find some measure of happiness in the joy it brings some select others, especially two women for whom this is likely the final baseball season.

While I'm sure the fans would love to see them take it in a sweep of the first four games, I have reason to believe that the city of Philadelphia is almost (in pure silence, to be sure) hoping the Phils only win one of the two Tampa games that open the series. Why? So they'll get to play three games up here. The city's looking to rake in a huge amount through direct business, commuting and various business taxes for each of the games played here.

Comments

Dwight Williams said…
I'm not unsympathetic to that last fiscal concern on the part of Philadelphia City Hall(and its assorted satellite communities' counterparts', as well). I know that Ottawa City Hall was looking forward to a lot of revenue from the last couple of playoff runs enjoyed(or not) by the NHL Senators hereabouts.

Considering some of the stuff needing fixing up around here, I can't argue with that logic at all.

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