Be Heard

A great deal has been made about Jimmy Rollins’ tweet in which he said the fans at Citizens Bank Park Bank were too quiet.

I love Jimmy Rollins. I love him as a player (as good a combined hitting and fielding shortstop as there is in the National League) and love him as a person (deeply involved in helping kids).

Jimmy campaigned with me in 2008 for President Obama. He was a very effective speaker, because of his honesty - he acknowledged that he hadn't voted before, but was inspired to get involved by then-Sen. Obama.

But Jimmy totally misunderstood us fans. I was at the game Sunday night and we were quiet, not because we were down on the team, but because we were scared. We were nervous as can be. None of us could even have imagined us losing a game in which we had a 4-0 lead with Cliff Lee on the mound. Heck, that was as unthinkable as the Eagles blowing a 20-point lead to the team with the worst offense in the NFL.

But the fans' nervousness and their obsession with winning it all made me think about our recent trips to the postseason in all sports. That desire to win was sky-high for the Flyers, especially in 1997 and 2010, for the Phils in 1993, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and for the Eagles during the 2004 season. It's hard to say which one I enjoyed the most.

The obvious answer would be 2008, because the Phils won it all and we got our parade. Although I enjoyed it thoroughly, I missed out on most of the fun, because I had committed to doing a bus tour around the state to help Obama carry Pennsylvania. In fact, the night we won it all, I felt so forlorn, because I had to watch it on TV at a college bar in Indiana, Pa., where I had spoken at a rally at the state university. Our table was the only one in the entire establishment that cared about the game and when the Phillies won, we were the only ones to cheer. I felt as if I could have been watching it in China.

I really enjoyed the Phils' charge into the World Series in 1993 and the Flyers' Stanley Cup run to the finals in 1997. First, because I was mayor. Second, I went to every home game and even saw all three Phils-Jays games in Toronto. Third, because I got involved in controversy in 1993 when I said that I could get a hit off Jays pitcher Todd Stottlemyre (not smart, but fun) and, fourth, because of William Penn.