Agnew's Mind He's got a long journey ahead of him.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY USE STAIRS: The State of the Phillies

    by Matt

In my 27 years of living, I have been alive for 2 world championships. When I was a few weeks away from my first birthday, the Sixers won the NBA title in 1983. When I was engaged for a mere 19 days, the Phillies won the MLB crown in 2008. That's it. All that time in between has seen some intense heartbreak for any die hard fan. When I mean die hard, I mean die hard. This post isn't meant for the fan who just started watching the Phillies since they won last year. This isn't meant for the fan that just waits till the playoffs to jump on board. This isn't meant for the person updating their Facebook every two minutes about how amazing the Phillies are but doesn't know what the Danny Tartabull debacle was. This is for the suffering fans who endured empty Vet seats, Scott Rolen's complaining about the turf, JD Drew and the batteries, Millwood, Bobby Abreu, Randy Wolf, Vincente Padilla, etc. If you fit the description above, click the X button in the upper right hand corner of your browser, log off, and put on some Dancing With The Stars in a dark corner.

1993 Phillies:
Great Atlanta NLCS with all the drama and of course the heartbreak with Joe Carter.
1997 Flyers:
Amazing run to the cup only to have the Red Wings sweep us and Terry Murray say that we choked.
2001 Sixers:
Amazing run to the finals that saw two game 7s including Vince Carter's in and out 3 pointer at the buzzer. Game 1 of the finals was the highlight. After the Lakers were undefeated in the playoffs, AI over Tyrone Lue. That's all you gotta say here.
2004 Eagles:
Most dominating regular season of all time in Philly. T.O., the smiles, the mock fights, oxygen chambers, Chunky's vomiting.

So WHY have the Phillies/Rockies Game 3 and Game 4 felt like the most intense, nerve-wracking, do-or-die games I have ever seen?

As a fan of world champs, I should have more confidence this year. Unfortunately, it's the opposite. Now more than ever, my pessimistic levels are higher than ever. Winning a title is like a drug. Once you've had it, you NEED it again. If you are from Philly, you understand that it's more important this year for some reason, every Howard strikeout, every J-Roll at bat, Lidge blown save, Charlie's moves, Hamels bitchiness is magnified. This year more than ever, ALL the announcers and media are against us...even though we are defending champs.Last year we were undefeated at home. We had a 2-0 lead every series except in the World Series. Not this year. We were never 2 games away from being eliminated once last year. This year we were tied 1-1 after giving up that amazing home field advantage. Last year we had Brad Lidge. This year we have Brad Lidge. I can't explain it; this year's NLDS Game 3 and 4 have been the best, most nail-biting games of all time for Philly sports.

Ryan Howard didn't arguably have the biggest at bat in his career last night - he flat out did. Think about it. Sure, he's had home runs in the World Series and key hits. However, he's never had a bigger hit in a clutch situation like that -- EVER.

For the first time in our lifetimes, we are about to have a semi-final rematch. That's never happened ....especially back-to-back years.

In closing, I will leave you with this... even though our pinch hitting has been a no-show this post-season here is an awesome sign seen at Game 2 : In Case of Emergency Use Stairs. CLASSIC. I have a better one. In Case of Post-Season Use Jack.