Go, Phillies!

I'm back in Philadelphia, arriving yesterday in time to see the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series. While I find baseball about as interesting as waiting in a line at the DMV, there is something exciting about watching the losingest city (in sports) finally get a win. Alison and I went down to the local sports bar within a minute of the end of the game. After they won, the bar (and the city) erupted in excitement. The bars were full of celebratory drunk people, and within minutes the streets began to fill as these bars emptied. It was a little like Franklin Street after winning the championships but much, much bigger. Cars drove around the city for miles, honking. People leaned out of car windows and sun roofs. The most daring rode on the hoods of cars as passerbys cheered (including the police). We walked down to Broadway, the main thoroughfare of the city. It's a large, four lane street leading up to City Hall, and it was packed for several blocks. People were on top of lampposts, street vendor's kiosks, and the subway entrance. Others were throwing paper out of buildings about 15 floors up. We saw a tree being carried down the middle of the street--apparently uprooted and taken for kindling. A large American flag, taken from a nearby building, was also paraded through the crowd. People waved street signs that they had forcibly removed in celebration. Bonfires were started in the street, and a few cars overturned. Occasionally, we spied unprepared (and totally out of it) Philadelphians making their way through the crowd. At one point, a Beatnik-looking young woman wandered by us. She looked like she had left her slam poetry event and was completely confused by the sudden celebration. Ah, hipsters.

Anyway, it was a good time. We hung out for about 20 minutes, watching drunk men climb poles, and then we went home. And we fell asleep to the dulcet tones of car horns and whooping. Good times :)