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Phanatics' Passion Rooted In Tradition, Frustration

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Let's just be honest about this. Philadelphia can throw a lot of stuff the sprawling mish-mash known as Tampa Bay can't match and shouldn't try.

We have cowbells.

They have the Liberty Bell.

We're known for Hulk Hogan and Debra Lafave. Philly counters with Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross.

We grumble about rush hour traffic around West Shore. Philly's idea of a tough time came 211 years ago when George Washington and the Continental Army camped out for the winter at nearby Valley Forge while fighting the American Revolution.

Baseball is fun these days in Tampa Bay but they take it a lot more seriously here, as the Rays are about to discover tonight when the World Series shifts from climate-controlled Tropicana Field to the rainy, chilly great outdoors of Citizens Bank Ballpark.

It will be an atmospheric shift in more ways than the weather, though. They've been playing professional baseball in this town since 1883, two years before Tampa even got its first cigar factory and way, way before anyone explained the rules for the "C Ring Catwalk."

"They're going to see enthusiasm, sometimes to the point of being obnoxious," says Dave Borden, 60, lifetime Phillies fan. "We get very passionate, and we're hungry."

The William Penn Curse

Philly fans are tough, knowledgeable and demanding. More than 3.4 million of them turned out to watch their team this season - about double what the Rays drew at home. They can be harder on their club than they are on visitors, and that's saying something.

Their baseball team has provided them much heartache spliced with occasional success over the years, but they keep coming back because it's what they do.

Rays manager Joe Maddon grew up in Hazelton, Pa., not far from Philadelphia and he understands the passion and tradition. He understands that indifference is not an option for a Philly sports fan.

"I have a lot of respect for the Philly fan or the Philadelphia fan in general because he is so into his group," Maddon said. "And I know they live and die by it. It is religious here."

Maddon isn't kidding.

Philly is as synonymous with sports frustration as it is with history. The Phillies won their only World Series in 1980 and only the city's pro basketball team, the 76ers, has won a major championship since. There has to be an explanation and the locals came up with one: The William Penn Curse.

Penn is Philadelphia's founder and a statue of him stands atop city hall.

It was understood through the years that no structure was to be built higher than the statue, but then they built One Liberty Place in 1987 and it towered above ol' Billy. His revenge, locals say, is to punish the local teams - knowing that will inflict the most civic pain.

Philly Fans Wouldn't Move

The potential for pain is there again as the Rays stand between the Phillies and a prize fans here consider rightfully theirs.

As baseball purists, they respect the Rays. You could hear the snickers echoing off the Walt Whitman Bridge, though, when Rays fans moved out of the way in Game 1 at the Trop so first baseman Ryan Howard of the Phillies could lean into the stands and catch a foul ball.

"Phillies fans wouldn't interfere with the play but they wouldn't get out of the way, either," Borden said dryly.

We mentioned Borden's lifelong devotion earlier. His roots go deep. His former father-in-law was Granny Hamner, an infielder on the famous Philadelphia "Whiz Kids" team that won the pennant in 1950 - or 48 years before the Rays played the first game in their history.

"We have a 100-year history here with the Phillies," Borden said. "It's hard to compare that with Tampa's. Their fan base is transient because so many people moved there from somewhere else and have allegiances to other teams. It takes time, but they're doing better."

Indeed they are. The Rays faced down Boston, another tradition-laden team and city, to win the American League pennant. And they say they're ready for whatever Philly fans can throw at them - hopefully not literally - now.

"Listen, I grew up here. I read the newspapers growing up so I know what goes on down here," Maddon said. "I think it's great."

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