The Larry Kane Report

So, in a 165-game season, games 163 to 165 were not so great. So, in the most demanding sports town in America, there is a letdown. But get over it, because as I said  in a previous column, the Phillies are real winners. Share the moment. I’ll explain why.

Psychologists and urban planners like to talk about shared experiences, events that bring people from different communities and backgrounds together. Some of them are crises, others nuisances like snow storms, And then there are the happy moments of thrill and sometimes dissapointment surrounding professional sports teams that unite large urban and suburban areas. The Phillies season, unpredictable and most times filled with adventure and electrifying roller coaster rides through victory and defeat, was an ulitimate shared experience, memorable and serving to connect the unconnected in our vast metropolis. That, in itself, was the worth the price of admission.

Sometimes, shared experiences can be sad, like a national or local tragedy. Others, like snowstorms., put us all in the same predicament. And then there are the good news stories that get people to join in collective joy in the blaze of victory and collective sighs in the agony of defeat. That’s what the Phillies season was all about, even though end came too soon. But we still had the regular season and its safe to say that no six months have been as electrifying around here since the Eagles got to the Superbowl.

These kinds of shared experiences bring people from diverse geography and background together and on that scores the Phillies of 07 were an extraordinary success.

One final note: Thousands of people who didn’t who didn’t know the difference between strikes and balls, and curve balls and fast balls, got caught up in the fever.  It was more than jumping on the bandwagon. It was a rare COLLECTIVE display of civic pride.

I have only one regret about the Phillies season. I was embarrassed by the people who threw down their rally towels and booed the team as the second defeat against the Rockies was playing out. A public display of anger against a team that did so well is disgraceful.

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