October is a beautiful time of year. It brings the real start of fall, with leaves changing and a bit of a nip in the air. In theory we’re settled into life at school. Most importantly, though, it signals the World Series.
The teams may change year to year, but the excitement surrounding the playoffs is always incredible. This year the New York Yankees are facing off against the Philadelphia Phillies in what many are calling the “New Jersey World Series.”
With so many students at Brandeis from the tri-state area and Pennsylvania, it’s no wonder many students are getting into the action.
Given that most Brandeisians aren’t driving, flying, training, or busing it down to New York or Philly to take in the games, fans on campus are getting together to feel the rivalry and camaraderie of the series. One group of students in Rosenthal shared their viewing party on Wednesday night with Hoot editor Destiny Aquino.
Harry Webb ’12 said, “wearing my Phillies jersey and just yelling at everything, insulting the other team” was all just part of his tradition. “But,” he added, “in the case of [roommates and good friends] I try hard not to.”
Webb wasn’t the only one who liked watching the game with fans from both sides. “You have to watch it with someone for the opposite team so you can really feel [the excitement],” Daniel Liebman ’12 explained.
The group of friends has worked out a system for viewing the games. One suite in Rosenthal features predominately Yankee fans while another houses the Phillies fans. When the Yankees are home, the game is on in the Yankee suite but when the games move to Philly the group will shift to the other suite.
“ You can’t jinx it by losing in the new stadium,” Liebman told The Hoot.
“Gotta bring the ghosts over,” Adam Cohen ’12 added.
After 86 years, the House that Ruth Built closed its doors last season for good. The Yankees moved across the street to a brand new stadium, but the expectations for greatness remain the same. Liebman and Cohen are the Yankee fans in the group and they certainly understand the importance of getting that 27th Championship this year.
“I stay reasonably confident, I don’t want to be all sure the Yankees are going to win before they do. I don’t want to jinx my boys you know,” Cohen said. “Plus you don’t want to look all stupid if you’re sure they’re going to win and then they don’t.”
When Chase Utley hit a homer to put the Phillies up 1-0 in the third inning, Laura Kramer ’12 was surprised the Phillies fans in the room weren’t showing more emotion. She asked, “Why aren’t they more excited?”
Philadelphia fan John Fonte ’12 responded, “Because they do this all the time.”
Responding to inquiries regarding the reason for his allegiance to the Phillies, Webb told The Hoot, “my grandfather has always loved them. They were the team I grew up with.”
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the series with their Wednesday night win, and the score from Thursday’s game was not available at press time.
Despite the loss, the Yankee fans stuck to their team. When asked why he cheered for the boys from the Bronx, Cohen said he’d never had a choice. “They were the team on the TV when I was little, they were the team I fell in love with. It’s almost as if no other team existed.”
Needless to say that passion instilled on both sides will continue to come to the forefront in this series. Both the teams and the fans will have a day off Friday before the battle starts up again in Philadelphia on Saturday for game three.
