You probably remember exactly where you were in 2008 when the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. Fewer will remember where they were and what they were thinking when Shane Victorino grounded out to end the 2009 World Series.
How about Brian Wilson striking out Ryan Howard to end the 2010 NLCS, or Howard falling to the ground in agony to end that painful 2011 NLDS, do you remember the details of those nights?
No Philadelphian will hold it dear, but for now, you probably remember what you were doing on Nov. 5, 2022 when the Phillies lost the World Series to the Houston Astros.
The lucky ones will forget quickly, those for whom sports is a distraction, those who didn't follow the 2022 Phillies through their ups and downs, those who don't remember the collapses of 2021, and 2020, and 2019, and 2018.
For those who have forgotten 22-4 against the New York Mets or 17-11 against the Miami Marlins, for those who have never witnessed the Dodgers' back-to-back-to-back home runs or Jason Heyward's walk-off grand slam, for those who didn't care about the free agent signings of Michael Saunders and Jeremy Hellickson, and those who don't remember Pete Mackanin and Jimmy Paredes and Peter Bourjos, does it feel any different?
Perhaps more people began following the Phillies again in the past month than jumped on the bandwagon in the past decade. All one must do to see this truth is look at Citizens Bank Park in September versus October, or count the Phillies jerseys on Broad Street and on SEPTA.
The Phillies gave baseball in Philadelphia a pulse again.
Though these new supporters must content themselves with a quiet winter settled around the hot stove, the 2022 Phillies cultivated a fanbase, something every other iteration of the franchise for the last decade has failed to do.
Depending on your point of view, that is more important than a title. For what fun is a championship without the people to celebrate it with?
When Citizens Bank Park opens its doors again in 2023, for the first time since 2012 there will be real hope in the city, for the Phillies and for baseball, for Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, for Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, for Rob Thomson and Dave Dombrowski.
The World Series did not satiate this team or its fans, but it created a hunger for success, a yearning. The Phillies proved they can run with the big dogs in 2022, and as one other title-winning Philly athlete once said, "Hungry dogs run faster."
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