I have nipples Gregg, can you milk me?

Spent the day in New York City yesterday at the Madarin Oriental near Columbus circle for a meeting with the hotel and the folks at Childrens Hospital. We are holding a Charity event for them there on Nov. 12th and had to scope out the room and discuss other particulars.

I love the city. I often wonder what would have came of me accepting any of the offers I had early in my career to work and live there. With the family starting out, it was almost impossible to do so at the time, but still, I wonder.

New York is truely a unique place. There is nothing comparable. I can't imagine anyone not having been there before, and it is definately a place that someone who has never seen a city before can be overwhelmed by.

For some reason, the place wreaks of distrust. The people, places, the architecture. But as you persuse around, and talk to people and experience the life, it gets a little intoxicating. What a town.


The Phils start their NLCS tonight, and I'm hoping to be treated to 5 games of pure baseball bliss. I say 5 because thats the standard number of games that everyone thinks their team will win in a 7 game playoff. Why buck the trend now?

What I want to point out however, is the assumption that Phils fans are worst fans in the world. Here is why we get that distinction from outsiders.

I just made the statement that the Phils will win in 5 games. Gung ho, bring it on, lock it up. IF they lose game 1, you will see from the media, HALF of the city/ fans proclaiming that they blew it, and that we are doomed to failure.

Thats not just bad phillies fans. Thats the whole northeastern part of the country. That is the breed of this area. Everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hear it from Mets fans, Celtics fans, Devils fans, etc... The Philly media just does a better job of pimping that attitude.

Once you get passed the longitudinal line that runs somewhere near Harrisburg, that attitude dissipates. It's another reason why the people from this part of the country are go go go all the time. We know we have to get it done before something bad happens. We play beat the clock. It is inherited.

Now, I'm not saying that there aren't people like that all over the country. There are. They are called transplants. But this is the overall attitude and way of life, if you will, of the folks that have been born to this part of the country. And it seeps into their casual lives, such as team affiliation and so on.

It's not a bad way. That's not my point. It certainly is not a curse, although it has been called that at times. It's just a different way of living. Just like people who live in the midwest are way laid back. Thats not to say they are less productive, they just do things differently and value time and other things differently.

I got a phone call from a friend just now. I answered, and he says, "The fucking phillies better win tonight!". I know what he means. The average guy puts a lot on the line every season. Time, money, emotion. They feel invested. If they lose, it's all for naught. But they will come back every year to do the same thing.

Me personally, I'm looking forward more to the baseball than the wins. The wins would be nice, but the baseball will always take precedent for me. I will celebrate just as hard as the next guy if they do win, and I will take pride in being a fan if they do, as well as if they don't.

But as long as the games are entertaining, the baseball is skillful, and the players leave nothing on the field, I will be content as a rock star, sitting at the bar, with his name placarded on the back of his seat, with a redbull, SOCO, and water back.