Philadelphia Phillies Defeat Tampa Bay Rays, Win World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays with a score of 4-3 to win the World Series. This marks the Phillies' first World Series victory in twenty-eight years.

The Phillies' victory was put on hold by a rain delay, which paused the Series for two days. Game five resumed at the seventh inning with a tied score of 2-2. The Phillies were the first to break the tie; a run from Pedro Feliz in the seventh solidified their lead. Brad Lidge came in to close the game at the top of the ninth inning.

The victory seems to rekindle the city of Philadelphia's former title as the "city of champions." It hasn't had any claim to that title since 1983, when the Philadelphia Sixers-led by Julius Erving and Moses Malone-became the NBA Champions. Game coverage of this year's World Series reminded Philly fans of just how desperate the City of Brotherly Love had become for a champion to call its own; the theme to Rocky played repeatedly in the background, seemingly begging the Phillies to let the fictional hero off the hook in exchange for some real heroes.

This World Series Championship victory also marks an amazing turn for the Philadelphia Phillies, who haven't been to the series in fifteen years. Their last bout at the championship took place in 1993, when the Phillies lost to Toronto. Their last World Series victory came thirteen years earlier, when the 1980 team defeated the Kansas City Royals.

Needless to say, it's been a long time coming.

Just because the Phillies took the series doesn't mean the Tampa Bay Rays don't have plenty to be proud of. This was the team's first ever World Series, and they made it as hard as possible for the Phillies to take it from them.

But the night truly belongs to the Phillies, and their championship-starved fans. Just as excited as when the Phillies clinched the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the fans showed even more team spirit as the final out was called at the top of the ninth inning. And no one could claim more joy in winning the series than the two members of the Philadelphia Phillies' family who lost members of their own families on the path to this night: team manager Charlie Manuel and center fielder Shane Victorino. Manuel lost his mother on the morning of game two of the NLCS; Victorino learned of his grandmother's death shortly after game two ended. When questioned after the World Series victory, Manuel said he believed his mother would be "giggling and . . . saying what a great team" the Phillies are.

So now the Philadelphia Phillies make the turn their fans have been waiting and ready for: from the losingest team in baseball to the number one team in the course of 3 ½ innings. The Phillies can also claim the longest game as part of their title, with a game five postponement of almost fifty hours.

But don't let anybody tell you it wasn't worth the wait.