John Fischer's Philadelphia
Vol. 1 - Number 5 - 06/04/99

Welcome to the fifth edition of our new feature column. This will run three times a week. We'll be looking at current events, life in the Philadelphia area, politics, sports, the weather and a lot of other things. A key to the success of this column will be you, the readership. I  want to hear your response to what you read here, so speak up!

It's been several years since I last attended a Phillies Businessperson Special. I did so on Thursday afternoon along with a number of friends. I could not help but notice that the crowd was a lot smaller than the last Businessperson Special I attended a few years ago. The general apathy towards baseball in Philadelphia continues and most likely will until either the team's management is willing to spend money on off-season free-agent pitching or until they move into their new stadium in a few years. That is, providing their management finally decides where they want the new stadium to be.

Well, this had all the looks of being a great game. After all, Curt Schilling was pitching and he has had something like five complete games in a row. I used to feel that I had a jinx on the Phillies. I remember back in the late 70's I attended all of the big playoff games against the Dodgers including a few in the pouring rain. I know how to watch the Phillies lose and there was nothing different today. The Phillies went down to defeat and completed a less than impressive homestand.

The real fun of an afternoon at the ball park has little to do with the game. It's all about having a good time with friends getting out in the sun on a pretty nice day. Baseball was meant to be played in the daylight. Let me share with you a few of my thoughts and observations:

• There definitely is no dress code to get into a Phillies game. The fashion police are conspicuously absent. First, off, be smart, if you're bald or partly bald, wear a hat. That ultra-red look at the end of the game is kinda painful to see. It's funny to see all the folks wearing shirts with players names on their backs. I'd sure hate to be Scott Rolen and have anyone in public mistake some of the folks I saw today in the stands wearing his jersey for the real Scott Rolen. And for many of you ladies, and you know who you are, I checked. There are a lot of things you are not allowed to bring into the stadium. You can't bring booze, you can't bring boom boxes but you are allowed and indeed encouraged to bring your bra. Enough said. 
• Its All-Star Game Time and the ushers pass out the All-Star ballots and somehow expect people to be able to figure a way to punch out those little holes to cast their votes. The problem is that on a warm, sunny afternoon, how many people carry around a pen or pencil in their shorts to deal with these ballots? I discovered today from my friend in the next seat that one way to handle this situation is to use the tip of your shoelace to do the job. Of course, if you have a beer the appropriate position is to hold the cup in your teeth while you do the hole punching. It makes for some interesting - if slightly mumbled conversation. I know - I'm not right.
• Maybe it's because of free agency, and maybe it's because there are so many teams, but it's sure hard to keep up with the players anymore. It's kinda interesting to hear the folks around you try to pronounce the names of the players on your own team. Take for example, Phillies first baseman, Rico Brogna. When he comes to bat, you might hear, "Go BroGna, go Brodgena or even Go - however you pronounce your name!" Maybe players should stick around for a while in the same city so that people actually learn their names. Sorry, Sam.
• What's with the peanuts at the Vet? We had a bag today that needed a special label, "Triple Roasted". Have you ever seen what happens to the peanut in the shell if you really over-roast it? It looks like several things but none of them is a peanut.

So, that's my perspective. Let me hear yours on these or any pertinent topic. Join me in our chat room almost every evening - Philly Chat - or drop me a note at philadelphia.guide@about.com.

If you missed last week's columns you can still catch them:

John Fischer's Philadelphia 05/24/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 05/26/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 05/28/99
John Fischer's Philadelphia 06/02/99