PHILADELPHIA — As a woman in a red Phillies cap climbed a traffic pole on the corner of Broad and Locust Streets, Steve Sullivan hoisted his 3-year-old son, Stevie V, on his shoulders to give him a better view.
Just a half hour after final pitch on Sunday night, the crowd had already begun to congregate in Center City. Onlookers cheered as the brave fan pulled herself up on a traffic light. It was time for mayhem; for the first time in 13 years, the hometown team punched its ticket to the World Series.
Sullivan — along with Stevie, his wife, Kelly, and their 5-year-old daughter, Lily — watched Game 5 of the National League Championship Series outside Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres, 4-3, in a stunning, breathtaking victory behind the bat of reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper. The family, of West Philadelphia, took in the scene from afar, the crowd erupting as the team clinched the league pennant, before heading downtown.
“We actually watched it outside the ballpark,” Sullivan said, “because I wanted to get the kids the closest experience possible. They heard the roar, and you could see the kids just light on fire.
“Then we said, ‘Next stop, Broad and Locust.'”
Darting to Center City, Sullivan wanted to celebrate and share the moment with his family. His children may be young, but he needed them there for this experience. In his own youth, the Phillies never found consistent success. Who knows when this might happen again?
“I want to raise my kids with the same passion I had growing up with all those dry years,” Sullivan said. “Let’s start them off with a lot of wet years.”
A few blocks north at City Hall, hundreds gathered on Broad to enjoy the moment. Decked out in Phillies red, people of all ages chanted, cheered and chugged. People dressed their dogs in pinstriped jerseys, then lifted the pets above their heads to thunderous applause. Friends shared hugs while strangers shared high-fives, everyone coming together to embrace this wild-card winner turned championship contender.
Neha Metgud and Andrew Kovalick, a young couple from Wilkes-Barre now living in Center City, were there to take it all in. Metgud, a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, had been waiting for a moment like this, and being in the city to see it only made it sweeter.
“Just once-in-a-lifetime memories right now,” she said.
“One-hundred percent,” Kovalick chimed in.
Walking through the crowd across Broad St., John Zakrzewski of Center City looked around and reflected.
“This is what the city needed, man,” he said. “This is amazing. This city needed something to thrive on, and you’re feeling it right now. I’m so happy.”
Three weeks ago, this would’ve been unthinkable. The Phillies were stumbling late in the regular season, not inspiring a ton of confidence as they snapped their 11-year playoff drought as the final NL wild-card team.
But a lot can change in a short period, and has it ever in Philadelphia. Since then, the Phillies won the Wild Card Series on the road, playoff baseball returned to the Bank and the club came up huge in every necessary spot to storm its way to an NL title.
With the Phillies now set to play in the World Series, this 2022 postseason run has hit legendary status in Philadelphia sports lore. And if Sunday’s celebration was any indicator, this city won’t forget about the whirlwind any time soon.
“I never thought this would happen,” Zakrzewski said. “No one did. This is incredible. Just look around — everyone is on cloud nine, and I’m so happy about it.”
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