High Hopes

Your Center City Correspondent is feeling very anxious this morning (Nov 4). It’s the day after Election Day, and the World Series still isn’t decided. By this time last year, we were just about recovered from the post-parade hangover, and Septa was trying to figure out what’s wrong with the transit system. Well, some things don’t change. My anxiety stems from a mixture of optimism and fear – I’m optimistic that the Phillies will win tonight, but fearful that I’ll have to feel like this for another day.




For some reason, this year’s postseason has attracted a new set of fans. I guess they thought last year’s playoffs were a fluke, or they were distracted by the presidential election (which reminds me, the Phils win the Series about as often as we elect a black man President). This year these new fans are buying into the fact that the Phils are for real and deserve to be playing for the World Championship. Be careful, folks – it’s easy to get sucked in to the karma of a winning team. For instance, Mrs. CCC became a fan a few years ago, and I overheard her talking to someone in a bar the other day and she was saying how “Charlie Manuel has messed up his whole rotation for the Series.” That is so surprising on three levels: 1) she has an opinion about baseball (other than “These games are too long.”); 2) she knows who the manager is; and, 3) she has an idea what a rotation is. So you new fans be careful, it’s a slippery slope, that once you’re on it’s hard to stop rooting for the Phils like the rest of us troubled, anxious souls.



Sing after me, “He had High Hopes. . . “