Are We Still Having Fun?

In the midst of this up and down season, I have been reflecting on some fond memories of baseball seasons past.  One of those memories happened when the Phillies played the then born again Washington Nationals and guys like David Bell and Mike Lieberthal were the wily veterans.

I have this one friend who always finds himself to be the butt of a joke.  We all have those friends.  If you don’t know who that person is in your group of friends, odds are it is you. Sorry to break this to you on a holiday weekend.

So this friend, let’s call him Roshun, decided to bail on a fun outing myself and about eight other guys had planned to go see the Phillies play re-branded Expos. Roshun had a frequent tendency to bail on a lot of things like this, so it wasn’t a surprise.  His excuse was that he had to stay late at his summer internship working for some bank or investment firm. I don’t really remember.  I just know it was something incredibly boring.

League leader in Hot Dog Cannons (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

We picked this particular game because it was a dollar dog night.  I know, I know, don’t judge me too harshly.  Since we were foolish and didn’t understand the dangers of hot dogs we bought and consumed a lifetime’s share of the phallic treats.  When you eat this many hot dogs there are a lot of tin foil wrappers left over.

My brother, with probably the greatest idea he has ever had in his lifetime, thought it would be a unique and appropriate prank to use the tinfoil to write Roshun’s cell phone number on the chain link fence directly behind our seats.  First, we tried it with one of our numbers and the calls came pouring in.  We quickly reshaped the metal numbers and they stayed there for inning after inning.

We would later find out Roshun’s phone was ringing nonstop as he sat in a meeting for his internship.  That night he received enough calls from drunk Phillies fans to fill his voicemail box to capacity.  Something like 50 or so people left him messages.  People are weird.

So here’s the point, the Phillies may or may not make the playoffs this year.  Sometimes they are unwatchable, but then they win a series or two to suck you back in.  No matter what their record is at the end of the season, going to baseball games can still be one of the best things of summer.  You can still show up at Citizens Bank Ballpark and create lasting memories.  It is one of the best things about this sport that we all love.