"I fight with the guys at work all the time," said Lauren Sheridan, 26, of Magnolia, sitting at the edge of the open trunk of her Jetta, in the thick of the tailgating Saturday with pal Jennifer Carlin, 28.
"We revolve our daily lives around it," said Carlin. "It's definitely an addiction."
And while the to-a-player first-blush sex appeal of the Phillies surely has not faded - "Jayson Werth stretching in the batting cages" is a perennial YouTube video favorite among women fans - these players have proven themselves worthy of a long-term relationship.
"I think the older females get, the more interested they get," said Linda Risposo, 51, of Fishtown, who participates in postgame banter with male coworkers at Home Depot. "I feel like I'm an old lady. All I do is watch baseball, and it's not just the uniforms anymore. It's the talent."
The daily addiction of baseball fandom has caught on, especially with young women, who Phillies officials say have taken to the team in a major way. Most grew up playing organized sports.
"We follow hard-core, like the guys," said Amanda Stokes, 20, of Abington, a fashion marketing major at the Philadelphia Art Institute. "The Phillies are part of the culture of Philadelphia. I grew up with it, wanted to be a part of it."
Part of the draw is also Citizens Bank Park itself - with its social ambience and cheap standing-room tickets. Phillies officials say the park has drawn increasing numbers of women since opening in 2004.
In the final inning of Sunday's game, the loudest voice from the standing-room area behind Section 130 clearly belonged to Kristy Aggalane, 28, a nurse from Northeast Philadelphia, so loud that a male fan turned around and said, "Shut up!"
