In fact, not to be melodramatic and fully understanding that a billion people in China don't give a damn, it might just be the single most important game the Phils have played since they first hung up an Open For Business sign and opened the gates in 1883.
Sure, that night in October 1980 when police horses lined up on the Veterans Stadium warning track and Tug McGraw leaped high into the South Philadelphia chill was big. It ended more than a century of false starts and unsatisfactory endings. But that was only Game 6. Even if they'd come up empty, they still had another chance.
Ditto Game 5, Part 2 in 2008, when Brad Lidge fell to his knees and spoke to the heavens and another parade rolled down Broad Street and millions celebrated their World F. Champions.
There have been crushing disappointments along the way, games in which the Phillies were the second half of the win-or-go-home parlay.
But it's all relative, isn't it? Never has a season started with such lofty expectations. As bitter as being upset by the Giants in the NLCS was, that was soon washed away by the wave of euphoria that swept the region when prodigal lefthander Cliff Lee returned as the latest free agent to choose this team, this town. And that he snubbed haughty New York at the same time made it all the more delicious. He likes us! He really likes us!
It only stands to reason, then, that the fallout that would result from a first-round dismissal would be just as unprecedented.
The inevitable conclusion is that what will transpire on that neatly manicured lawn near the intersection of Broad and Pattison tonight has the potential to impact this franchise more than any single game in its long and colorful history.
A win, and the pressure is off, at least temporarily.
