How Philadelphia Got Its Groove Back -- And Why N.Y. Is Jealous

Philadelphia's been a punchline for as long as I can remember -- long before most of us were around, even. After all, it was way back in 1940, in a movie with Mae West called My Little Chickadee, that W.C. Fields famously stood on the gallows and told his executioner, "I'd like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do." Back in Fields' day, the knock on the City of Brotherly Love was just that it was so dull -- closing up at 10 o' clock, second prize is two weeks in Philadelphia, yada yada yada.

Over the next seven decades, as pro sports increasingly became the city's remaining portal into the nation's consciousness, you could add the epithet "boorish" to "boring" -- there were snowballs at Santa Claus (sort of) and catcalls for just about anyone.

Oh, and did I mention that we're fat?

Everyone said the real problem was that Philadelphia -- the nation's sixth largest city and fourth largest TV market, birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution -- was a victim of a strange condition: low civic self-esteem. And what brought that on? A lot of things, some of them self-inflicted like our "corrupt and content" political culture -- but there was also a severe case of sibling jealousy, the sibling being our colonial cousin of New York City.

Even at the start of the 19th century, Philadelphia was still the center of the nation's culture and higher learning -- and then the Industrial Revolution hit. Philly plunged right in, manufacturing everything under the sun, from steam locomotives to Stetson hats. New York decided instead to manage -- and occasionally gamble -- the profits. You know how that worked out (when was the last time you wore a Stetson hat -- or were transported by a steam locomotive?).

Just 100 miles to the northeast, New York became a black-hole-like force, sucking the energy from Philadelphia, stealing everything from our talented college grads to foreign tourists who never even saw the nation's founding city as they whizzed down the New Jersey Turnpike from the Statue of Liberty to the Washington Monument. New York got Broadway, the UN, the World's Fair -- and baseball. The Yankees won more World Series than any other team, while the Phillies lost more games than any other franchise in America -- in any sport. Even the Mets, who didn't exist until 1962, won a World Series before the Phillies finally did in 1980.

Bad behavior became the mask for a city's collective anxiety. It wasn't just the notorious 700 Level at the dank, concrete Veterans Stadium, where wearing an opponent's jersey meant maybe sparing your life -- maybe. Here at the Philadelphia Daily News, back when the Eagles became title contenders (but nothing more, of course) in the 2000s, we had a regular feature that inside the newsroom was officially known as "haters' guides" to the cities that the Eagles were playing that week, even if the "city" was actually a Wisconsin Nice burg like Green Bay. You didn't need Sigmund Freud to diagnose the pathology of Philly's "haters' guides."

Then there was a day when everything seemed to change.

It was July 8, 2007. The Phillies, out of the playoffs for nearly 14 long years, having lost an epic 9,999 games, were playing an afternoon game at Coors Field in Denver, when a wind-whipped thunderstorm raced down the Rocky Mountains to stop play in the 7th inning. The grounds crew was struggling so much with the winds that a couple of workers were trapped under the heavy tarp. The Rockies had already retreated to the clubhouse, but a posse of Phillies -- led by centerfielder Shane Victorino -- dashed out into the downpour, pulling back the tarp and freeing the trapped workers. "When it draped over the guys, I was worried that somebody might suffocate," the head groundskeeper said later. "It was really cool the Phillies came out and gave us a hand."

When the game resumed, Victorino hit a home run and the Phillies went on to win. A few days later, they lost their 10,000th game, as expected, but it was no big deal, not to the players and suddenly not to the city. This incarnation of a once-woeful baseball franchise seemed to carry none of the old baggage of the 21st century. Philadelphia began to take a closer look at itself.

In 2007, it was becoming increasingly clear that America's prosperity was a house of cards, built up on easy credit and something called mortgage-backed securities, illusory dollars that flowed down to Wall Street, in the crooked heart of that long-envied New York City. The Phillies seemed to epitomize their home city, where the core values of our once-mocked blue-collar culture -- honest hard work and, as shown that afternoon in Denver, pitching in to help a stranger in need -- were now a source of pride. Philadelphia looked around and realized that maybe its low self-esteem was misplaced. In fact, often now it was New Yorkers -- lured by a walkable and more affordable city with a restaurant scene that W.C. Fields could never have dreamed of -- who showed up to look at our refurbished lofts and rowhouses near Center City.

Good karma moved to the baseball field. By the end of the 2007 season, the Phillies passed the fast-collapsing New York Mets to win the National League East on the season's final day, and in 2008 they did roughly the same thing, only this time the confident yet likable bunch led by Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Victorino and the rest went on to win the World Series. But there was still one hurdle up I-95. That would be the Yankees, with their 26 rings and their 4-game sweep the only time they'd met the Phillies in the World Series, way back in 1950. And in 2009, Philadelphia and New York were on the ultimate collision course. Would the old self-esteem bugaboo come back, to curse the Cradle of Liberty just when it was back on its feet?

We braced ourselves. Yet here at the Philadelphia newspapers, there was never a second's thought about a "haters' guide" -- for us that just seemed soooo 2002. The focus was on the field, on the Phillies and their amazing professionalism and self-confidence. In the Big Apple, it was a different story. On the eve of the World Series showdown, the New York Post launched a broadside at its cousin, the one with the insecurity complex in remission. "GOTHAM TREMBLES," the New York Post dripped with sarcasm. "The Frillies are coming to town!" Illustrating the front page: Shane Victorino...in a red skirt?

Huh?

"PITY THEM PHILLY PHOOLS," said the inside headline (I guess, uh, because "Rocky" fought Mr. T in one of the movies?). "Their fans are second-rate and so is their city." The story went with predictable and not very funny lambasting of cheesesteaks and hoagies and fans who are animals, relying heavily on cliches from the 1970s and 1980s. And Victorino in a skirt just wasn't based on anything -- it was all so pathetic and sad. Now it was New York doing the "haters' guide." There was no push here in Philly to respond in kind. Why should we? On the playing field, we're already the defending world champs. Philadelphia had once been the most joked-about city in America. Now? They got nothin' on us!

This year, the Yankees moved into the House that Madoff Built, a $1.5 billion sterile replica of the legendary old ballpark across the street, lined with luxury boxes for the inside traders and associated con artists who can afford them, with huge blocks of overpriced seats sitting empty behind home plate -- even during Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. In Philadelphia, raucous Citizens Bank Park is our civic temple, a place where the defining image of the 2009 season didn't involve boos or batteries, but a dad hugging his two-year-old daughter after she threw away a foul ball. No wonder New York is so jealous of a city that is so confident and -- dare we say it -- so happy, that is coming into its own in opening moments of a new millennium. Confident enough as a city that even losing this World Series -- which to paraphrase Clint Eastwood, is not going to happen -- wouldn't change that.

You could say that July 8, 2007 -- with its miracle of the wind-blown tarp rescue, in far-flung Denver -- was the day that changed everything. Or maybe it was just the day that a beaten-down city finally looked in the mirror and simply realized what it had going for itself all along. Either way, it almost makes you feel sorry for New York, and sorry for the Yankees.

Almost.

 

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Comments

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

Hey bunch, this is so funny i'm still laughing, thanks for the read.

"Go Yankees"
"GO New York"

[FearlessFreep]

Woody Allen's MANHATTAN has a famous line: "I'm from Philadelphia. We believe in God."

[Skipper5]

Sorry, Will. I've lived and worked in and around both cities most of my life, and your post is wishful thinking.

Sorry to say, Philadelphia, like the Phillies, can't stack up to NYC -- or even Boston, a city closer to its size. Them's just the facts.

I ought to know. I graduated from college in Philly, and had a great time getting my start there, but couldn't wait to get to NYC.

[MichaelinPhilly]

Maybe we're not interested in stacking up to New York. And, love Boston dearly, but we have more reasonable winters....

[Eris23]

NYC has been super defensive about itself for quite a long time. This is what a tourist population brings. If all you have pride in is the myth and status of actually living in NYC, you'll have to fight to keep that alive. But, the day it fails is the day the tourists leave. That would definitely result in an economic hit for the city. But, yeah, I'd like to see the "consumption only" class finally pack their bags.

All of this nonsense by NYCers largely boils down to people who want to feel they are superior based on where they live, but are constantly nagged by the suspicion that, somewhere, people may be living just as well or even better.

[MichaelinPhilly]

I think you're on to something there. New Yorkers' need to constantly prove their city's superiority is actually worthy of some analysis.

[Eris23]

I'm only going to disagree with you in one sense: these aren't New Yorkers. These are largely people that have moved to the area within the last 15 years. They're tourists. Most of us who were born, or grew up, in or around NYC don't have this attitude. In fact, for all that is great about living in the Metropolitan area, one of my most favorite things are the multiple hubs of international or interstate transportation that allow me to go elsewhere both easily and affordably. If ever dealing with one of the tourist clowns again, ask them when the last time was that they left NYC to do something other than visit their parents on a holiday.

[jessicadevyn]

Agreed. NYC is a fantastic city. But just because you live there doesn't make you superior. In my line of work I deal with people everyday who are from NYC. (For the record, I currently reside in Pittsburgh). They seem shocked that people can be happy and enjoy full lives outside of NYC. Some even seem to be shocked that people speak English and have electricity outside of NYC. Not everyone wants to live there. Personally, I love to visit and have family and friends there, but I have absolutely NO desire to live there.

And don't even get me started on Boston...

[Eris23]

I very much wanted to live in NYC at one point. As a child, growing up in the NYC area, I always loved my visits to NYC. However, by the time I was old enough to move there, which was around 1995, I no longer had the desire, as the city took to fighting people like myself in order to move them out and make room for corporate and luxury developer interests. The main outlets of creativity and art that didn't earn a major profit and stood in the way of private developers got shut down to a large degree. Slowly but surely, Manhattan lost its edge and soul. So, I took to living across the river which has been great. My rent is cheaper, and my apartment bigger, than what I'd be able to get in Manhattan or Brooklyn. My train commute to downtown is about 7 minutes. None of the people around me have the silly tourist "I'm so great" attitude. I get to go do and see what I want in NYC at the greatest of ease without having to deal with any of the downsides of living in it.

[rsaillant1]

"All of this nonsense by NYCers largely boils down to people who want to feel they are superior based on where they live, but are constantly nagged by the suspicion that, somewhere, people may be living just as well or even better."

The same might be said about Americans, in general. "We're better." Why?

[Stefano]

I've been living in NYC since 1996, and I have to say, I can't remember anyone outside of a baseball conversation, even mention Philadelphia. I've been to Philly many times, always had a decent time, but I definitely prefer NYC. That said, Philly's fine, not sure what your hangup is with NYC.

[Ira7]

New Yorkers don't give Philadelphia a second thought.

Except when we laugh at that ridiculous Phillies mascot and the people waving those stupid handkerchiefs.

[MichaelinPhilly]

If that's the case, why does the New York Post insist on wasting space on columns about how bad Philadelphia fans are, wasting front pages on fake photos of Phillies in skirts, and so on? (Of course, what, in the Post, ISN'T a waste of space?) Even a seriously-written column on how Philadelphia should be called the City of Brotherly Hate. But, in view of who the Post's parent company is, perhaps it was meant as a compliment....

Seriously, why can't New Yorkers be content with having the great city they do? Why do they - and of course I'm generalizing here - have to rub it in other people's faces all the time that they're better, or even "the only city in the world" (Bergdorf Goodman's ad slogan for years - as if there are people in Paris and London crying themselves to sleep at night because they've got little-town blues)? It just goes to show that you can have all the glitz and money in the world, and still have no class.

[Eris23]

Almost every person who does that is a tourist, not a real New Yorker. They have to rub it in your face because that is the only reason they moved to NYC. If other places are seen to be as good in any way, it's hard for them to justify the exorbitant rent and other insanely high prices they pay just to say they live in NYC. Rent literally drops by 2/3rds on the other side of the river.

[Pierogi kid]

This native Pittsburgher, absolutely loved the 3 years he lived in Philadelphia. Too many great things about that place to even begin to list them here. It is still a real city where people live and die if that makes any sense. Lived on Brown and 22nd across form the old Eastern State pen. Loved that neighborhood.

[NorthernCross]

As a man from OC, I am confident in saying that we are above this sort of petty rivalry. We find it amusing, nonetheless.

LAKERS!

[Kremfresch]

Reading the comments of NYers and other haters on this post makes me more proud than ever of my home City Philly.
The Post's "Frillies" article was a laughable embarrassment to NY.
To the people on this thread trashing Philly that admit to never even visiting the city? By all means, stay away, PLEASE.
Philadelphia is the most liveable large city in America, hands down. Two hours from New York (an overpriced place to visit, and god knows why ANYBODY would LIVE in that sh*thole...the deli's and disco's maybe? WHATEVA!) 3 hours from DC, 90 minutes from the beaches, two hours from the mountains, lower taxes, lower prices, the most public park space of any major city, the most complete and connected public transportation of any major city, world class restaurants, museums, The Eagles (Who handed the Gint's their _sses yesterday), the defending world series champion Phillies(at 72 million dollars LESS than the Yankmes THIS SEASON ALONE!) Imagine, New Yorkers... a city with complete public transportaion, AND you can actually AFFORD to HAVE A CAR TOO!! Of course, being New Yorkers, you are in the absolute center of your universe and have no need to leave your roach infested one room apartments in rat infested buildings at $2,000 a month... so enjoy!

[MichaelinPhilly]

Yep. You're absolutely right.
I grew up in the New York area and chose to live here.
895 a month for a one-bedroom with its own back garden, five blocks from work....

[jingles32]

Proud of your crowd for hurling coins at Melky and Damon? Proud of your crowd for chanting, "have a taco, Melky?" (They do realize don't they, that tacos are not a main staple of Dominicans/that Melky is not Mexican?) Proud of your crowd for chanting ad nauseum...Yankees, Jeter, CC, (fill in the blank) "su hks?" Proud of that "young lady" sitting behind home plate last night, giving the single digit to Posada, telling him to "Shut up!" when he was calling out the ump on the strike zone? Well, your city is a fine city, you have a lot to be proud of, (never realized you suffered from such an inferiority complex, or why you should) but your crowd has not done your city proud.

[MichaelinPhilly]

Please. Posada spent half the game complaining.

[LBaby]

Amen! Nothing made me happier during last night's game than listening to the Philly crowd after the Damon - ARod beyotch slaps - silence...it was golden.

You stay klassy, Philadelphia....

[jingles32]

Jealous? Tonight, not so much. ("Figured out" Mo yet, Mr. Manuel??? Seems not.) Kudos to the best team, the best closer, in the best city in the world!!!
GO YANKEES, and the greatest fan base, in the greatest city in the world!!!

[gloriousglo2]

Oh please. NYers are as parochial as they come. I grew up in the Philly burbs, then moved to the outer burbs where I was forced to live with some of these people. I was asked questions like, "Are there any medical schools in Philly (there are 5)", "Do you have any malls", "Are there any colleges there", "Do you have any Italian Restaurants there" , followed by a clueless look of utter amazement when the answer to the question is yes. Everybody is a rube, in some form.....

[NY Grandma]

I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday.

W. C. Fields

[jingles32]

You were saying, Mr.Manager Manuel? Andy is washed up? You have Mo's number?
GO YANKEES!!!

[duckfan00]

Game 3 - Yankees - 8 Fillies - 5

Go Big Blue!!! NYC Marathon tomorrow!!

[jessicadevyn]

I love Phillie. I might go there for X-mas. Many of the problems that Philadelphia has faced are problems ALL cities in the US have faced. It's nothing like Buffalo, Detroit, Gary, Newark, or my dear old hometown, Cleveland. (I still love it even though I laugh at the viral video of the town).

[MichaelinPhilly]

Will someone PLEASE explain why my two attempts to respond to this needed to be censored? Was I not rude enough for this post, or is there a prohibition on criticizing New Yorkers?

[MichaelinPhilly]

That's cute, guys.

[MichaelinPhilly]

SO...as I was trying to say....

I've been to Cleveland once, and I quite liked it. (It was late June, though, and I'm guessing the steady breeze off the lake is less pleasant in January :-) ) But that reminds me of another instance of New York arrogance that's stuck in my head: an anchor on a supposedly-all-news radio station in New York announcing the decision to locate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. "Cleveland?" he comments - "Cleveland? Why would anyone put something like that in Cleveland? It should be here. Like everything else." (Or words to that effect.) Are New Yorkers (and I understand I'm generalizing here) really so insecure about their city's greatness that the occasional bone thrown to some place else is that upsetting to them? I'm not convinced that New York doesn't have an inferiority complex, or some sort of complex, of its own....