Galye, Ed and I ride to the Olney subway station for the express train to Phillies land-I thought that the energy for the playoff games was electric. This is absolutely carnivalesque. Outside the ballpark are thousands of people milling about in front of a bandstand, games, party tents, Phillies gear tents, and who knows what else because we couldn't even get through the crowd. Above are banners announcing 'Postseason" and high above is the DirectTV blimp. Everyone is snapping pictures, including moi, though the lights are distorting the images.
The game starts at 8:00, and it is only 7:20, so there is time to walk around the whole park. The smells morph from french fries to some kind of crab spice, from beer to ice cream to hot dogs. The only thing missing is a Ferris Wheel, or bumper cars. Lines form for every variation of food. We are more interested in the Phillies Wall of Fame. Eventually, we part, Gayle and Ed going to their seats in the out field, me to section 428 on the third base line.
My friends for the evening: a mother and 12 year old daughter to my right, 4 young college women to my left, a group of guys in front, and behind a group of men in their 50s. The atmosphere tonight in the second game of the Championship is different than the first night of the playoffs. The Phillies lost the first game, as they watched one player hit two home runs. So there is more of a worried expentency.
Oswalt is pitching erratically at first, but settles down. Ah, good , the Phillies are up.The Giants pitcher, Sanchez, is not in control, and this brings some hope and excitement back to the crowd. The song "tonight's gonna be a good, good night" starts playing.
