After 25 years of blown dreams, close calls, not quites, and disastrous hopes. After 25 years of never winning (except in fictional Sylvester Stallone movies), Philadelphia is the center of the world.

TWENTY
FIVE
YEARS.

This year's Phillies didn't just bring home a championship, they brought home hope. If presidential campaigns haven't convinced you that 2008 is the year for "change" and "hope," perhaps these ballplayers from the city that liberty built are an even better example.

How's that Sam Cooke song go? "It's been a long time coming, oh-whoa, but I know a change is gonna come." Of course it would be ignorant to even compare the magnitude of African-American oppression and the civil rights movement--which "A Change Is Gonna Come" is about--to the past quarter century struggle of Philadelphia sports teams, but the uplifting theme of the song carries to any burden that felt too heavy to bare at one point or another. And every Philadelphia athlete and fan has felt that way these past few years, until today. It's been a long, long time coming. But boy does it make the victory taste sweet.

And for a personal added bonus, I used to love a girl who lives in Tampa. This makes us even!

MP3 Ben Sollee - A Change Is Gonna Come (a most excellent Sam Cooke cover)
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MP3 Robbie Robb - In Time
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AND! For readers who loathe when I get all cheery-eyed over these things, here's a more realistic read of what this championship means for Philly.

Thanks Daryl Hall, you made my blog a liar! But Phillie fans should have seen the wet and muddy mess ahead when our resident soul machine bowed out of the national anthem due to being "under the weather." Frankly, Daryl, everyone that did show up in Philly last night was under a LOT of weather themselves. So... you better put up an awesome new collaboration on Live From Daryl's House soon to make up for it. Or else!

So now we sit indoors until the rain washes away, waiting to get back to Game 5. Aw, but it's not that gloom. This is just a lull that gives you the perfect opportunity to spin some tunes and forget about ! Here's the wax I'm spinning today.

BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Blind Melon - No Rain
Slayer - The whole "Reign In Blood" album
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks
Bob Dylan - The Levee's Gonna Break
Modest Mouse - Float On
Guns N' Roses - November Rain (eh, it's close enough)
Daryl Hall - Starting All Over Again

And if you have no idea what's going on with Game 5--here's some light on the matter.

Tune in to Game 5 of The World Series tonight to catch our home town boy, Daryl Hall give the world some National Anthem, Phill-ay style.

This means we've won more games (series is 3-1, if you for some reason are wicked out of it) AND had way better anthem singers than Tampa Bay in this series. I mean, seriously. Backstreet Boys? Fail. Los Lonely Boys? Strike 2.

So let's kick Game 5 off right, with the Philly anthem in today's YouTube Monday clip. Here's to hoping the Phils get to dance at the top of the steps tonight, Rocky style.

Go Phils!

The Dodgers were a bell and we just sent a crack up their big iron side! Let Phreedom ring!

Finally, FINALLY, Philadelphia is where it belongs; at the top of the world, (don't worry, it's still grounded firmly along the waters edge in Pa, I'm just speaking metaphorically here) on the way to the World Series.

And this isn't just any ol' championship march. This is a HUGE deal for us. I mean, yea, we're celebrating the sluggers, but more importantly, we're celebrating us-our heritage, our patience, our city, our history. It's like when the class nerd shows up at the high school reunion as a genius millionaire body-building model. There is no place more proud right now than Center City. It's a really avenging feeling.

It's a total Philly thing; you wouldn't understand.

But if you want to try to understand, here's some Philly music to add to the sweet sound of cheer and victory that will no doubt be ringing throughout Philly and it's extended suburbs tomorrow.

*Click song title links to download.

MP3: McFadden And Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now (Phillies version)
Play this song loud and raise your bottles and glasses in unison, friends.

MP3: Slo Mo - My Buzz Comes Back
Their fresh sound is so Philly. And this song is about getting your groove back. And frankly, The Phils are the new "How Stella Got Her Groove Back."

MP3: Bill Conti - Gonny Fly Now (Rocky training theme/Philadelphia theme song)
A must have song for such an occasion, obvy!

MP3: Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke cover)
Not a Philly song, but hey Phils! Bring that title on home to us. Yeaaah! (Yeah!) Yeeeeeeeah! (Yeah!)

MP3: Boyz II Men - End of the Road
This one is for you, Dodgers fans! We're looking at you, Mike Piazza. pwnd!

Well, I don't have to point out that I'm an entertainment junkie, not a sports fiend. But I do fancy romanticizing the air of sports fandom in Philly, especially considering how ferocious our city is getting for a championship. It's more about celebrating who we are than home runs and ground rule doubles. And with The Phils building some big hopes up around here, I wanted to re-share a post I wrote about them last year when they were knocked out of the playoffs that I feel has some relevance to this year's NLCS series. Cheers.

http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/2007/10/curve-balls_08.html