It was the death of a stereotype.
The Philadelphia fan - edgier than most, oftentimes outrageous, sometimes obnoxious - has been defined for decades by the times when he strayed over the line. Well, that ended yesterday.
The next time someone brings up snowballs and Santa Claus, there now is only one proper reply:
Cliff Lee.
Booing Michael Irvin?
Cliff Lee.
Shooting off a flare gun?
Cliff Lee.
Jail cells at the Vet?
Cliff Lee.
Tasers in the outfield?
Cliff Lee.
Besides joining this starting rotation, Lee has slain the Philadelphia albatross. He said it and so did Ruben Amaro Jr., the Phillies' general manager; that is, that both financially and atmospherically, it was the paying customers who brought Lee back to Philadelphia, spurning more money and more years offered by the New York Yankees.
They could not have made it more plain.
"For me, we wouldn't be here if we didn't have the fans supporting us the way they supported us," Amaro said. "It's really plain and simple: we don't sell out games, we don't give ourselves a chance to be even in this stratosphere.
"The support we've gotten with our fans, the support I've gotten from David [Montgomery, the club president] and our ownership group to be able to kind of go past where we would typically be comfortable doing, and the fact that this can put together a pretty darn special rotation, I think those are the kind of things that pushed things forward for us."
It was the fans. It was their decision to fill the ballpark to capacity, now year after year. It was the money they spent and it was more than that. Everybody who goes there knows that it can be such a vibrant place on so many nights. It is a long year, and it isn't as if people are howling for nine innings for 81 games, but the place has an uncommon pulse, and it drew Lee back.
