Phunny pheeling phor Phillies phans

Before the Phillies ever took the field on Sunday afternoon, the buzz was thick around the ballpark.

The Mets/Marlin game had started twenty minutes earlier, and before long, the scoreboard started the count. Four-nothing Marlin. Five-nothing Marlin. Before we were warm in our seats, the Mets were trailing 7 to nothing, and the biggest September collapse in the history of baseball had begun to wind down.

What we knew and certainly what the team knew was that all it would take would be a win against the Nationals for the local nine to be National League Eastern Division champions.

1993.

Fourteen years ago a group of hard-nosed players won our hearts with an improbable run to the World Series. Even today, after the loss to Toronto, the team is loved by Phillies fans, and with good reason. They gave us everything they had and gave us a season to remember.

1964.

The Phillies blew a six-and-a-half game lead with 12 to play. Until this week, it was the biggest September collapse in baseball history. Thanks to the Mets for killing 1964. R.I.P.

This team that trots out on the grass of Citizens Bank Ballpark is every bit as loved by the fans as the '93 team, and what lies in front of them is a smaller hurdle than what they have already been over. That's optimism talking.

Early on, it was obvious that today was a special day in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins (who, even before today was my choice for NL MVP) singled and stole second and third, tripled and put the exclamation point on his "We're the team to beat" proclamation. The "M-V-P" chants got louder as the game wore on.

At one point, probably after Ryan Howard added another homer, the game took on a different tone. No longer were we anxious about the outcome. Now, with a little more than three innings to play, all they had to do was finish. We started the Nationals out countdown. Seven more outs - six more outs ... The crowd took on that mood, mostly because I don't think we know how to act. We're used to being on the other side of this. It's been a long time since I've seen the Phillies dancing around on a pitcher's mound.

Once Brett Myers came in to get the last three outs, the biggest game in the history of the ballpark was a foregone conclusion. That last half inning was spent cheering or moaning every pitch, and good for us, it wasn't drawn out. Brett put them away quickly and we could start dealing with the realization of all of this.

The reality is that they have taken the first step. They open the divisional series on Wednesday, after the Rockies and Padres decide who is coming here for a beating. There is a little further to go after that.

I need to see three more mound dances.