Over the past few years, it’s gotten progressively harder to obtain Phillies tickets. Now, I’m not saying that they’re impossible to get, but the days of having an entire section to yourself like at the Vet are long gone.
Part of this could be attributed to the bandwagoners that have jumped in with the Phillies during their recent string of successes. However, that’s going to happen when your team starts to win games. Hell, there was talk of replacing Fenway Park a few years ago, and now the Red Sox are on a 609 game sellout streak, dating back to May 15, 2003.
The Inky has a great stat today, showing how much the Phillies fortunes have changed since moving over to Citizens Bank Park. In 33 years at the Vet, the Phillies only had 47 sellouts. Now, the Vet was a lot bigger than CBP, but there was some good teams that played at the Vet. In comparison, the Fighins already have 271 sellouts at Citizens Bank Park.
All of these sellouts have kind of come at a price though. There are lots of people coming to these games just to be seen and to socialize. College kids come to tailgate and indulge in Dollar Dog Nights. (I’ve done this myself, so I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.) All of these new “fans” have tamed down the baseball atmosphere a tad. People are trying to start The Wave in the 9th inning of a 1-1 ballgame against a divisional opponent. Now, I’m against the Wave ever being done, but that’s just ridiculous. I sat at the home opener in 2009 and the people next to me thought Raul & Chooch were being booed when they were introduced. That’s just sad.
I’ll finish this up by congratulating the Phillies on getting to 100 straight sellouts. The atmosphere at The Bank has made the Phillies a better team. There is no doubt about that. In reality, those congratulations should be given to the fans. They are the ones that have supported this team and are now being rewarded for a long string of bad teams.
To keep up to date on The Streak, which has become one of my favorite Tweets to see, just give a follow to Mandy Housenick of The Morning Call. With the team playing the way that they are, I expect this streak to easily continue through the end of this year and pick up next year, with the season opener of the 3 time defending National League Champions.
