God Bless Philadelphia

Shane Victorino is a nice guy. Seriously.

In a blog I wrote a few months ago, February 22 to be exact, I told a heart-warming story about how Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, the Flyin Hawaiian, hit a walk-off home run in what was the best baseball game I had ever seen. He hit a home run in game 4 of the NLCS to help the Phillies win, but that's hardly the reason why I think so highly of Victorino.

In game three of the NLCS, Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda threw at Shane's head during an at bat, which was retaliation. When interviewed after the game, Victorino said that he understood he needed to be thrown at, but to just keep it away from his head. He didn't care that he was being thrown at, saying that it's part of the game. He said that he was over it and that everyone had to move on and play baseball. That is some serious respect for the game, being content with being thrown at and moving on.

ESPN analyst Buster Olney said when he visited Shane's family in Hawaii, he was treated with exorbitant amounts of hospitality, receiving a gift basket before he left. What a nice guy.

It makes me feel even better about wanting the Phillies to beat the Dodgers, which they will do.

It also means a lot because of my grandfather, a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan, especially the Phillies. He taught me how to get behind a team and be a true fan, among many other life lessons through sports and religion.

He's by no means on his way out, but I really feel that he needs this before leaving my family here on earth. I hope the Curse of William Penn doesn't bite the Phillies this year.

The Curse of William Penn goes like this: William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, has a statue on top of City Hall in center city Philadelphia. Prior to 1985, when construction began to build One Liberty Place, there was to be no building that stood taller than William Penn atop City Hall. Since then, there have been multiple buildings built taller than William Penn, but since then, none of Philadelphia's four major sports have won a championship.

The last Philly team to win a title was the 1983 76ers. Just two months after the construction of One Liberty Plaza in 1987 the Flyers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. In 1993 the Phillies lost to the Blue Jays in the World Series, in 1997 the Flyers lost to the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals, in 2001 the 76ers lost to the Lakers in the NBA Finals, and in 2005 the Eagles lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. If it's a cycle, it's the Phillies turn.

The city has tried adorning Penn's statue with team paraphernalia, but to no avail. Philly has repeatedly had its heart broken. I know, it's a silly curse, but this one seems on a different level than the Curse of the Bambino or the Billy Goat. Unlike those, this curse has adversely affected not one team but an entire city.

ESPN voted Philadelphia one of the most tortured cities in regard to professional sports. My grandpa has suffered enough, it's time to lift the curse of William Penn.