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The Plight of the Philadelphia Sports Fan

Dan Nolan recounts his life’s journey through the trials and tribulations of the world of a Philadelphia sports fan, taking the reader along through the pain of defeat, the despair of the long drought, and the frenzied joy of the win. In his inimitable familiar and funny style, Dan sits you down in front of his TV or in his seats at the ballpark and brings you to those games; you’ll feel the beer spilling and the boos reverberating as you relive those moments from the perspective of a true Philly die-hard.

All true Philly sports fans are quite familiar with the concept that glory is only temporary. That adage may not hold true for the players; they will walk forever as Philly Gods decorated with fancy rings weighing down one of their hands. But what does the fan receive? A parade? Yeah, but a couple of hours packed on Broad Street in a state of euphoria does not last all that long. We turn and go home and someone gets stuck cleaning up the mess. Some overpriced souvenirs? Of course, we love that crap. Bragging rights? They should be called fading bragging rights because unless that team repeats, those rights have an expiration of one year.



Really, all I can figure is that we get to try again, another chance at glory; another season, and even that next season hasn’t always been guaranteed.



Then again, the longing for glory is what makes us fans. That is why we sit and endure the cold rain in October, that is why we get up early and show up five hours before kickoff, that is why we cheer loudly and boo even more loudly, that is why we expect the most from our teams, and that is ultimately why Philly fans are truly infamous. It is not from an over-publicized debacle with a phony Santa and it is not because of some incident with a few D batteries. It is the undying passion that stems from that longing for glory; even if it is only temporary.