BUNTS GET PATRIOTIC ALL OVER YOUR ASSES

A funny thing happened Sunday night at the ballpark…

First let me state that NO, I was not in attendance Sunday night at CBP when Cliff Lee and the Phils aimed to sweep those stinkin’ NY Mets (wahhhhh!!). I was actually home on my couch watching, curled under my Phillies fleece and nursing a Dogfish Head Aprihop attempting to some what sober up after a fun day of day loading (and praying for no Sunday evening/Monday morning hang over).

You may or may not have been at CBP either, but I’m sure by now you have either heard from someone who was there or saw on your local or national television news the touching reaction from yet another sold out Phillies crowd when word spread that a covert military strike by Navy SEALs in Pakistan took out the FBI’s most wanted terrorist – Osama bin Laden.

What transpired that night, in the throes of one insanely boring extra innings ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game will probably become one of those moments where those who were there will remember for the rest of their lives. If you weren’t lucky to be in attendance and were watching on TV, you were already most likely been made aware that President Obama was about to announce something major regarding national security. If you were like me, you flipped back and forth between CNN, MSNBC and ESPN anxiously awaiting the Presidents’ announcement… not to mention a friggin’ run by the Phils! With Lee on the mound, Phillies fans were expecting to get a third win against NY that night. Instead, we served up 14 innings of slooooow, boring baseball that resulted in a loss.

With as many injuries as the Phils have sustained during the first month of the 2011 season that have left many players sitting on the DL still (Utley’s knee, Lidge’s rotator cuff, Chooch’s back, Blanton’s elbow, Romero’s calf) a potential for a sweep of the Mets does nothing short of make most Phillies fans ecstatic, if not allowing us to forget the deficits our team is dealing with for just a while. And lets just face it people: beating the Mets just feels GOOD. Their misery is our ecstasy.

While we didn’t get the sweep, something spectacular did occur that evening. As the word spread that bin Laden was killed via numerous news portals, a quiet chant arose from the outfield that soon grew louder and louder as fans checked their PDA’s or read texts messages with players from the both teams looking confused up into the seats for some idea of what was going on.

“U-S-A” “U-S-A” “U-S-A”

You couldn’t do anything more than feel PROUD - of your country, of your military, of your city, of your sports team, of your fans. No longer was the war between Phillies and Mets fans relevant. We were all one; we were only AMERICANS from that moment until the last pitch was thrown under the bright lights of Citizens Bank Park.

To be honest, going into that game I was totally looking forward to our Fightin’s sweeping those stinking Mets. However, at the end of a long night of less than entertaining baseball, I got to thinking it was quiet poetic that New York beat us; after all, they were the ones who lost so much during the 9-11 attacks.  It was a win for the Mets at CBP that evening, but also a win for the United States on Sunday, May 1^st.

“ROCK FLAG AND EAGLE!!!”

I’ll be back to my regularly scheduled Phillies BS’ing next week.

I always welcome your comments and questions! Please email me at DiamondGirl215@philliesbunts.com

-xo,

DG215