Phillies fans pour into city to honor champs

October 31, 2008

16fa9e18415bd2804ce38e0fb525e43e

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of fans showered the World Series champion Phillies with brotherly love and confetti Friday, climbing trees and ladders, hanging out of windows and packing sidewalks, balconies and rooftops to honor the team that made Philadelphia a winner after 25 years.

Left fielder Pat Burrell led a nearly three-hour parade, pumping his fists in the air as he rode a horse-drawn beer wagon and delirious fans clad in Phillies red-and-white screamed themselves hoarse — many of them not even born when Philadelphia last celebrated a championship.

“Philly never wins anything. When we do, it’s a big deal,” said Melissa Albanese, 21, of Cherry Hill, N.J., neatly summing up the feelings of the long-suffering Philadelphia faithful.

Eight flatbed trucks packed with waving, smiling players and other members of the Phillies organization, including the furry green Phanatic mascot, slowly made their way along a four-mile parade route. Manager Charlie Manuel held the coveted trophy aloft, and throngs of fans roared with pride and jubilation.

Advertisement

The last time a Philadelphia team won a major championship was in 1983, when the 76ers claimed the NBA title. The Phillies won their only other World Series in 1980, and current pitcher Jamie Moyer — who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs — skipped school to attend it.

“This is unbelievable. I’m starting to understand what it’s really all about here,” Moyer shouted as he rode down a deafeningly loud Broad Street. “I was at the parade in 1980 and that was pretty exciting, but today tops it by far.”

The mayor’s office declined to give a crowd estimate, saying it would only be a guess. But Richard Maloney, a spokesman for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, said that by all accounts the parade resulted in historic high ridership on its trains, surpassing past events reported to have attracted crowds of more than 1 million people to the city. Maloney said the Broad Street Subway, which runs directly under most of the parade route, had about 400,000 riders, compared to 150,000 for a typical Friday. The Regional Rail system, which operates commuter trains connecting Philadelphia and its suburbs, carried about 300,000 passengers, compared to about 135,000 for a typical Friday.

The parade began on Market Street amid the skyscrapers of Center City, took a right turn at City Hall onto Broad Street, then rolled past South Philadelphia’s blue-collar ethnic neighborhoods before ending at the sports complex. Near the stadiums, police barricades failed and fans were so close to the flatbeds that the parade was briefly halted as officers cleared a path.

Ben Anderson, 25, of Bear, Del., pleaded “Come back! Come back next year!” to the team as they rolled by. Others in the crowd chanted “Bring back Pat,” a reference to Burrell, who will be a free agent next season.

At the city’s baseball and football stadiums, the Phillies greeted tens of thousands of fans who had watched the parade on big screens. At Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles play, center fielder Shane Victorino, Moyer and Manuel thanked fans for their support.

“It’s like Christmas came two months early,” Manuel said.

The Phillies then headed next door, to their home field of Citizens Bank Park, where a red “2008” banner was raised to celebrate their World Series title.

Manuel leaned into the microphone and gave his best impersonation of fictional city icon Rocky Balboa.

“Yo, man. We love you,” Manuel said.

World Series MVP Cole Hamels told the crowd he’d love to come back.

“One thing I can’t wait to do is go down Broad Street for that parade again and again and again,” Hamels said.

Second baseman Chase Utley smiled as he approached the microphone and proclaimed “World Champions!” The crowd cheered. Then he smiled wider, leaned in and repeated the phrase, inserting a profanity between “World” and “Champions.” The fans erupted and cheered for several minutes. Later Friday, shirts and caps featuring Utley’s phrase were offered for sale on the Internet.

Afterward, Utley said he hadn’t planned to utter the curse, which aired on live television and radio. “I was told I had to talk 10 minutes before I talked. Short and to the point,” he said.

Fans seemed mostly well-behaved. Police seemed to take most of the hijinks in stride, high-fiving parade-watchers even as some of their cruisers got hit with foam string. One man was led away in handcuffs outside the sports complex, his hands bloody.

Organizers couldn’t have asked for better weather. The clear, sunny skies and 60-degree temperature contrasted with the miserable, near-frigid rain that forced an unprecedented suspension of Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies ended up winning the title on Wednesday in wintry cold.