It was an awesome sight to see last Wednesday night, as I stood inside PJ Ryan's Pub for the final three outs of the World Series.
Eager Philadelphia Phillies fans watched with great ferver at every pitch thrown by Phillies closer Brad Lidge.
When Lidge got Eric Hinske to strike out to end not only the game, but the 25-year championship drought in Philadelphia, the entire bar area erupted in jubilation.
There were high-fives, hugs, cheers, screaming, yelling, and all out excitement. All of that raw emotion was contained inside PJ Ryan's, except for those who had to step outside to smoke and use their cell phones.
What was also noticeable was that the abundance of celebration that was going on didn't spill into the streets, due to in part of the presence of the Phoenixville Police Department.
The entire downtown district was excited over the Philadelphia Phillies World Series victory, and kept their celebrating to within the establishments.
It was disheartening to learn upon going back into the newsroom later that night how there were crowd problems, riots, and vehicles overturned in West Chester, along with several incidents in Philadelphia.
This behavior is totally uncalled for, and only gives these two areas black eyes in the public's view. It made no sense for the people in those areas to act the way that they did, and simply tainted what was supposed to be a rare joyous occasion in Philadelphia sports history.
However, what made me feel better is that the town of Phoenixville showed its true sense of class by not participating in any of that sort of tomfoolery, and celebrated wisely. Sure there was plenty of noise in the downtown district, but there wasn't any incidents that rose above a finger wag by the police.
So West Chester and Philadelphia can besmirsch their names by acting the way they did. I'd rather be proud of Phoenixville in how it handled itself last Wednesday night. That was just as sweet as the Phillies winning the World Series.