jamescuarterodotcom

i’m going to be honest. the phillies organization has burned me so many times over the past fifteen years that i can’t tell if my less than unbridled enthusiasm towards the phils’ world series berth is due to it not yet sinking in or if i’m still harboring resentment towards an ownership that has very little to make this team the perennial contender that a market of this size and devotion deserves.

it hasn’t been fifteen years of near misses, as has been the case with teams like atlanta or chicago, the majority of that time has been spent in the national league east basement and the laughingstock of the city’s four major teams. ed wade was reviled in this city for his seemingly complete inability to adequately stock this team. we would say goodbye to players like curt schilling and scott rolen while the team’s lone big name signing for years was jim thome, a blatant attempt to keep tickets sales up once the short-lived sellouts and luster of the new park was gone. and don’t get me started on the phils’ mysterious shadow ownership, with the amiable but maddeningly evasive dave montgomery acting as its mouthpiece.

however, that’s changed over the past few years. where there was a dearth of players from the farm system, we now have a number of homegrown talents. their miserly approach to free agents and player trades and inexplicable loyalty to the oft out of his depth charlie manuel have proven my longstanding opinion - that the phillies would not win a pennant under its current ownership - completely wrong. is that what’s stuck in my craw?

yet at the same time, what should ownership have to do with one’s devotion to a team? who really cares what goes on in the front office? perhaps it’s our generation’s infatuation with snark and minutae in an atmosphere fostered by sports radio, espn 24/7 and endless sports blogs, where it’s easier than ever for the fan to second guess and play armchair coach, manager, general manager and owner.

when you were a kid were you complaining to your friends why the phils failed to pull the trigger again on an ace pitcher? of course not. in a perfect world, sports should be about the players, the fans & the game. the current phils roster is amazing and stocked with players you love to root for. ryan howard, chase utley and shane victorino are just awesome. even jimmy rollins, brett myers and pat burrell, former poster boys for the spoiled, petulant & lazy professional athlete and chided for their sense of entitlement and disdain for the fans, have become admired for their talent, grit and leadership. it’s a disconcerting yet welcome change to longtime fans and i think i speak for all of us when i say CASH IT IN AND BRING IT HOME.