And now? Who wouldn't want an Eric Lindros? A Curt Schilling? Who wouldn't want a Scott Rolen on one corner and a Jim Thome on the other? Who wouldn't relish the idea of Keith Primeau and Peter Forsberg operating together? Allen Iverson anyone?

Um, Terrell Owens?

So what is it about this place? Do we run our stars out of town, as Wilma McNabb suggested back in early November? Or do they run out on us? Why did we sympathize with Schilling for wanting to be traded but ostracize Rolen for the same? Is it just the least bit odd that we don't like J.D. Drew for wanting out before he came in, and yet don't like Pat Burrell for wanting in when many want him out?

Are we too impatient, too unforgiving, too unintelligent, or any of those other toos we hear those outside of these parts describe us as? Are we qualitatively different from those other sports fans in this nation, perhaps even on earth? Since we tend to make our heroes miserable at some point during their stays here, are we deserving of our misery as well?

Which leads us to Chase Utley, in a historical way. At 28, Utley has signed a 7-year $85 million deal that will keep him in a Phillies uniform until he is 35.

"My plan is to stay a Phillie for life," Utley said, and there were joyful noises throughout this great valley.

There is no reason to not like this signing, or this player -

unless of course you are superstitious. Or think there really is something in the water around here that always turns our optimism into acrimony.

"This contract's not going to change how I perform," Utley said the other day. "It's not going to change how I prepare. It's not going to change how hard I play."

All great words. All likely uttered, in some way shape or form, by many of the names listed above. Like Ryan Howard, his hustling, homering, rally-starting brand of play has pushed the Phillies into the forefront of our conversations, and made them the primary focus of our long-starved championship hopes. Both men had their stories of struggle too: Utley biding his time behind Placido Polanco, Howard's path to the majors blocked by the Phillies' big financial commitment to Thome.

Anyone who says we never get lucky around here, ask yourself this: What if Thome had played injury-free in a Phillies uniform?

Where would Howard be today?

But back to the Chase. Beginning in mid-February, everything Utley does takes on a new light.

A hitting streak is earning his money.

A prolonged slump will be seen by some, perhaps harshly, as stealing it.

Like it or not, Utley has joined that other group. Like it or not, the championship stopwatch has started. Unlike Howard, who likely will barely earn a million dollars this summer, he will be expected to play every day, expected to come through in the clutch, expected to make his teammates better.

His leadership will be scrutinized and critiqued. Ask Donovan McNabb about that. Is Chase a good leader? Is he too quiet? Too boisterous?

Do his teammates like him or resent him?

Ask Donovan about that too.

Or Lindros. Or Rolen or Burrell or Schilling or Thome or even, going back to the days when stars had to stick it out around here, Schmidt.

Schmidt was part of a championship. Clarke was part of two, and Erving won one here too. They paid back on the investment made, financially and emotionally.

The clock begins for the newly married Utley in 2 weeks - and yes, we haven't even broached that new, huge, aspect of his life.

"I'm up for any challenge," he said. "Leading on the field I think is the best way. Every day, you've got to prepare yourself. No matter whether you're feeling great or feeling terrible, you've got to be ready to go."

Said team president Dave Montgomery, "He stands out by what he does on the field. He won't change."

Will we?

Your heart says no. But your history?

Well, for now at least, let's not go there. *

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