October 10, 2022
It was around the seventh inning Friday when Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni got home to watch the rest of the Phillies-Cardinals game with his son.
St. Louis had just taken a 2-0 lead and soon worked the Phillies down to their final three outs.
Then the incredible happened.
The Phillies rallied for six runs and closed out the Cards to take Game 1 of their NL Wild Card series. A night later, they were celebrating after shutting St. Louis out to win the club's first postseason series in 12 years and guaranteeing that Red October would come home for at least one game.
"I sat there on my couch with my son, and we just watched the rest of the game and were like 'Man...playoff baseball's pretty sweet,'" Sirianni said Sunday after the Eagles' 20-17 win over the other Cardinals down in Arizona.
There was definitely a special energy flowing through the Delaware Valley this past weekend, one that hasn't been felt in a long, long time.
Red October is back and the city's baseball love has been fully reignited, the Sixers are getting ready to begin their new season, hoping this is finally the year they break through, the Union over in Chester are one of the best team's in Major League Soccer and gunning for that MLS Cup that it fell just short of last season.
And the Eagles? After a win that was anything but pretty on Sunday, they have a perfect 5-0 record, and arguably the NFL's best team going with Dallas Week on deck.
"What an awesome time to be a Philly Sports fan," Sirianni said, wearing a powder blue Mike Schmidt player shirt at the podium. "What an awesome time to be a Philly Sports fan. I'm excited for the – We obviously got a job to do – but I'm really excited for Coach Rivers' team to get going. Man, it's really exciting to be a Philly Sports fan.
"And Flyers! Flyers too."
Okay, so maybe it isn't all entirely great...
Still, there is a lot to be excited about in Philadelphia right now, and that excitement traveled all the way out West to Arizona.
Nick Sirianni in a #Phillies shirt pic.twitter.com/K9ewlBvB5B
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) October 9, 2022
The Cardinals' State Farm Stadium had a lot of green running through it, and support for the visitors was clear – even on TV – from warmups to that final Arizona field goal attempt that sailed wide.
"These fans, I tried to go to as many as I possibly could and say 'Thank you,'" Sirianni said. "It felt like Washington. Kyler Murray, who is a great player, man, I got a lot of respect for him...I could see him struggling sometimes to make calls. WE'RE IN ARIZONA. Man, goodness gracious, I got a five-hour flight back! We're in Arizona and it came out the same way.
"Man these fans are awesome. This is such a great sports town. We appreciate the heck out of them. It was special."
Uh oh Skip.... they say they're ready after staying perfect on the season today! pic.twitter.com/oDK2LPpZdY
— Jennifer Hale (@JenHale504) October 9, 2022
The energy will surely keep flowing throughout the week.
The Phillies will begin their NLDS series against the rival and defending champion Braves on Tuesday and finally have that long-awaited home playoff game at Citizens Bank Park on Friday. The Flyers open their season on Thursday, and then Round 1 of Eagles-Cowboys is set from primetime at the Linc Sunday night.
The Sixers get going a week later up in Boston and so will the Union's playoff run.
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