On the dashboard on my Mac, I had this widget entitled the Cheesesteak of Suffering.
Admittedly a masochistic tool, this widget counted up the amount of time that had passed since the last major sports champion in Philadelphia, the '83 Sixers. On the evening of Wednesday, October 29, at approximately 10pm, it came to a halt.
WE WON!!
This past week, I got to see the second major championshipless streak in which I was emotionally invested break. The first was in 2004, when the Red Sox won the World Series. Despite being a fan of the actual team (not just the city, as was the case with the Phillies) this recent victory meant more to me for a few reasons. One is that it broke a drought for a city, a city and metro area I love, that has been suffering since before I ever lived in its environs.
But perhaps more so is that this was a championship which I got to share with many. In 2004, my good friend Danielle was the biggest Sox fan I knew, and there were a few more scattered here and there. But with Philly winning, pretty much everyone I had grown up with was rejoicing. Shortly after the final out, I called my brother in his apartment in Philly. I called my mom, at work in Philly. And Facebook exploded with support from all throughout the Delaware Valley and beyond. This one truly felt like "our" championship. I even kept the parade on in the background at work on Friday.
Other tidbits from teams, cities, and topics I care about:
The Baltimore Orioles have an upcoming fan event where it seems the new uniforms will be unveiled. Maybe they can go from worst to almost-first a la the Rays after their Extreme Team Makeover?
UMBC lax had a good showing in Fall Ball, playing both locally in the Lax for Leukemia tournament and out in Utah at BYU, defeating all comers. I know Fall Ball isn't necessarily generalizable to the season as a whole, but here's hoping it is.
My USF Bulls are in their midseason slump, having lost 3 of the past 4 and starting conference play 1-3. Perhaps we need to start packing in the non-conference games at midseason so that at least when we go through this we can still have a shot at winning the conference? Yeesh. And my Bull brethren over at TheBullsPen.com are insufferable, with good reason.
And finally, after having been in all black as a vampire this halloween, I realized I may have missed a prime opportunity: a Phantom Regiment drum major. Particularly since this year I could have gone with the bloody side after being speared in Spartacus!
Admittedly a masochistic tool, this widget counted up the amount of time that had passed since the last major sports champion in Philadelphia, the '83 Sixers. On the evening of Wednesday, October 29, at approximately 10pm, it came to a halt.
WE WON!!
This past week, I got to see the second major championshipless streak in which I was emotionally invested break. The first was in 2004, when the Red Sox won the World Series. Despite being a fan of the actual team (not just the city, as was the case with the Phillies) this recent victory meant more to me for a few reasons. One is that it broke a drought for a city, a city and metro area I love, that has been suffering since before I ever lived in its environs.
But perhaps more so is that this was a championship which I got to share with many. In 2004, my good friend Danielle was the biggest Sox fan I knew, and there were a few more scattered here and there. But with Philly winning, pretty much everyone I had grown up with was rejoicing. Shortly after the final out, I called my brother in his apartment in Philly. I called my mom, at work in Philly. And Facebook exploded with support from all throughout the Delaware Valley and beyond. This one truly felt like "our" championship. I even kept the parade on in the background at work on Friday.
Other tidbits from teams, cities, and topics I care about:
The Baltimore Orioles have an upcoming fan event where it seems the new uniforms will be unveiled. Maybe they can go from worst to almost-first a la the Rays after their Extreme Team Makeover?
UMBC lax had a good showing in Fall Ball, playing both locally in the Lax for Leukemia tournament and out in Utah at BYU, defeating all comers. I know Fall Ball isn't necessarily generalizable to the season as a whole, but here's hoping it is.
My USF Bulls are in their midseason slump, having lost 3 of the past 4 and starting conference play 1-3. Perhaps we need to start packing in the non-conference games at midseason so that at least when we go through this we can still have a shot at winning the conference? Yeesh. And my Bull brethren over at TheBullsPen.com are insufferable, with good reason.
And finally, after having been in all black as a vampire this halloween, I realized I may have missed a prime opportunity: a Phantom Regiment drum major. Particularly since this year I could have gone with the bloody side after being speared in Spartacus!
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