The Phillies have a secret.
It has nothing to do with Ryan Howard’s Achilles. Or Chase Utley’s knees.
Nor does it involve their three aces, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.
The Phils’ secret is Citizens Bank Park. And it is about to be put to the test.
What the Phillies have done the past few years, aside from win a whole lot of games, is just this side of a miracle.
They have saved baseball. At least in this part of the country.
For years we heard one expert after another, especially here in Philadelphia, lament that baseball was dead. Its czars had sold out to television, ending one tradition after another, including playing all their World Series games in prime time at night. The result? Young people had turned their backs on the game.
Add to that mix the fact that the Phillies played in a concrete dungeon otherwise known as Veterans Stadium.
Fast-forward a few years. Take a look around their gem of bandbox, Citizens Bank Park. In particular look at the faces, young faces looking for a party.
And they’ve found one in South Philly.
That is the magic that the Phillies have pulled off. Citizens Bank Park is now the place to be for young people in the summer. It’s party central.
The question now is how long will it last. The Phils have sold out all of their home games for the last couple of years. It helps that they have fielded very good teams during that span.
There are a lot of questions about the team this year. Their power source, their slugger and cleanup man Howard will miss the first couple of months. No one is really sure – again – when Chase Utley will take the field.
We’ve seen the lure of new stadiums eventually dull in other locales, Baltimore and Cleveland come to mind. Their retro ballparks likewise were packed for years. Eventually, as the teams sank in the standings, the charm wore off and those games are now played at half-empty retro parks.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen at Citizens Bank Park.
But I do wonder how long the place will be packed if the Phils don’t continue to excel on the field.
Sometimes I swear half of the people in the park don’t realize they’re playing a game.
Many of them are there because it’s the place to be, to see and be seen.
It’s the South Philly miracle. A bit of Phillies magic.
But how long can it last?
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