Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has a great Easter and gets to enjoy this 80 degree weather, sunshine, family and a good day of Philadelphia sports like me!

New York State of Mind

And so it begins.

Here’s to another season being a Phillies fan surrounded by (or stuck in, whichever sounds better) a tangle of New York fans.

After four years of living in North Jersey for school, I’m now relocated in Central Jersey, where Phillies fans are almost as few and far between.

I still get the typical reaction. It’s usually one of three:
1. Ew, Phillies fans are so obnoxious.
2. Way to jump on that bandwagon.
3. I’m sorry.

I’ve learned to just smile. I’m tired of explaining that:
1. I’m obviously not one of the obnoxious ones and there is no need to group me in with them. Maybe a few drinks in, but not on the daily basis. Nor monthly basis because I can’t even remember the last time I had more than a glass of wine. (See? Phillies fans CAN be classy!) C’mon, try again. (Yet I don’t apologize for the obnoxious fans. They are indeed obnoxious, but why blend in when you can make a scene?)

2. I have been a fan since … forever. I had Phillies posters hanging among my Hanson, NSYNC and O-Town posters. I cried the day Curt Schilling was traded. I drove my friends insane with my baseball obsessions and argued with everyone over how awesome they were. (65 wins in a season does not equal awesome. None the less, I was a fan.) And to all my friends from elementary school and middle school currently with Facebook statuses about the Phillies- I remember.

3. There’s no reason to be sorry. I’m sorry that the Phillies will beat your team.

That being said, Happy Opening Day!

Christmas Comes Early for Phillies Fans

If I were a sports writer, that would be my headline today. Or my new favorite, Merry Cliffmas and Happy Halladays.

Sorry, Yankees fans, but Cliff Lee turned ya down to be part of the best starting rotation in baseball. Not only did he turn the Yankees down, but he turned them down for less money.

Ah, what a great feeling.

I think the bigger issue is this: what number is he going to choose? Number 34 was traded for another number 34, Roy Halladay. Lee has also been a list of numbers in the 30s, so it sounds more like a problem for everyone digging out their Lee jerseys from two seasons ago than Philly's two aces.

And I wish I had photo(shop) credits for that photo. It's starting to float around Facebook. Who ever did it is pretty awesome and deserves some credit.

Is it baseball season yet?

There's Always Next Year

I am a die-hard Phillies fan. Not a fan since they started getting good in 2001, but back in 1995 when they couldn't even win 70 games in a season.

And, as my dad taught me at a very young age, there's always next season.

Maybe Ryan Howard will remember how to swing in the off season.

Still painful.