Why Philadelphia Sports Should Be Thankful For A Standing Ovation
It has been a very exciting, but depressing year to be a Philadelphia sports fan.
The year has included an Eagles playoff run, featuring blowouts of the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. However, self-implicating wounds found the Birds blowing a 10-point lead in Super Bowl 57.
And the 76ers finally seem to have processed the process, led by the MVP Joel Embiid, James Harden, and a young and improving Tyrese Maxey. Leading 3-2 over the Boston Celtics with a chance to clinch the Eastern Conference Finals at home for the first time since 2001, Embiid and Harden crumbled in both Games 6 and 7. This led to Harden demanding a trade, calling the president of basketball operations Daryl Morey a liar, and finally being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Moving to the Phillies, winning 90 games and dominating the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card and NLDS, moving on to face the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. The Phils were in full control in Games 1 and 2, dropping Games 3 and 4 thanks to a lack of offense and the bullpen falling apart. They took Game 5 in Arizona, coming back to Citizens Bank Park with two chances to clinch their second-straight National League championship. We all know what happened after that.
The Flyers, who have introduced a New Era of Orange with the hiring of Danny Briere as general manager and Keith Jones as president, have established a promising commencement to the beginning of their season after a miserable 2022-23 campaign.
And finally, the Union, who fell just short of their first MLS Cup championship, are back in the mix once again as they take on FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday.
With all the disappointment this year, there are still numerous things to be thankful for. One especially came in August and changed the perception of Philadelphia sports fans.
Flashback to early August, Trea Turner went 0-for-5 and made the final out with a runner in scoring position in both the ninth and 11th inning and allowed the tying run to score with two outs in the bottom of the 11th when a hard ground ball skimmed by him in a 12-inning loss in Miami in which he reached his low point. “Obviously I’m the reason why we lost that game,” he said to reporters postgame, showing how much he was in his head.
The newest Phillie, who signed an 11-year, $300 million contract in December, was in his head after a flawed beginning to his first season in Philadelphia, hitting .235/.290/.368 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. Through his first 107 games, no Phillies batter was a bigger liability than Turner. He was missing the ball more often, making weak contact, and was less able to use his incredible speed because of his fewer visits to first base.
Turner was booed throughout his early season struggles, as usual in the City of Brotherly Love. However, on August 4, that all changed. Thanks to Jack Fritz of 94.1 WIP, the Philly Captain, and Phillies fans, they completely turned around Turner’s season.
Back at home after the Marlins series, they gave Turner a standing ovation ahead of his first plate appearance of the weekend series against the Kansas City Royals, a move he declared “pretty f****ing cool” and made his mom cry.
That night began a 10-game hit streak for Turner and completely transformed his season. He also smashed a perfectly timed three-run homer to give the Phillies an 8-6 lead the day after that show of support.
He also had another go-ahead dinger against the Washington Nationals in the next series and later clobbered two out of the yard in one inning.
Then with the bases loaded, one out, and the Phillies losing 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth to the San Francisco Giants, a hitless Turner hit a 2-2 pitch right back at the pitcher that redirected through the infield for a walk-off winner.
A few weeks before, this ball would have been snagged and flipped into an inning-ending double-play. But thanks to the fans of Philadelphia, who flipped Turner’s confidence around, the ball finally bounced his way.
In the weeks after the standing o, Turner hit .364/.398/.754 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs. Turner increased his average by 26 points and his OPS by 99 points, while more than doubling his homers and nearly doubling his RBI over the span of one month.
Not only did the ovation help Turner, but it also boosted the Phillies to an incredible month of August, piggybacking them into the top Wild Card spot in the National League.
The Phillies may have only had a 16-11 record since the ovation in August, however, the offense was greatly impacted by the resurgence of Turner. The teams slashed .283/.356/.558, good for an OPS of .913 and 59 home runs in the month, the most in Phillies history.
Not only did the standing ovation help the Phillies, but it also changed the perception of Philadelphia sports fans.
Fans in Philadelphia will always be known for throwing snowballs at Santa Claus in 1968, or booing players of the other team, referees, injured players, or even their own guys. Since the dawn of time, Philly fans have been distinguished as the worst fans in sports. However, that changed with the standing ovation.
The national audience took notice of the actions at Citizens Bank Park on August 4 and the turnaround it made of Turner’s and the Phillies’ season, and it was praised. This went for all the teams. Eagles, 76ers, Flyers, and even Union fans were being spoken highly of on the team’s nationally broadcasted games and in every media outlet.
So, on a day when we have so much to be thankful for, remember the standing ovation, as we helped change the course of a star player’s season and changed our perceptive into some of the best fans in sports.
Article submitted by Benjamin Goldstein and reposted from:
https://phillysportsreports.com/2023/11/23/why-philadelphia-sports-should-be-thankful-for-a-standing-ovation/