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For fans, a low and soggy blow

After 28 years in the wilderness, Phillies fans are used to frustration. But this latest blow asked an awful lot.

Before the tie, before the deluge, there was hope in the air at Miami Cafe on South Street near Fourth. The trio of tentative optimists were (from left) Mark Balistreri (arms raised), Rich Fagan and Will McPhaden.
Before the tie, before the deluge, there was hope in the air at Miami Cafe on South Street near Fourth. The trio of tentative optimists were (from left) Mark Balistreri (arms raised), Rich Fagan and Will McPhaden.Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer

After 28 years in the wilderness, Phillies fans are used to frustration. But this latest blow asked an awful lot.

For six innings, victory seemed at hand, and the city was gearing up for a long night of revelry.

But cold wind and steady rain crashed the party. When the game was officially suspended at 11:10 p.m., a collective groan emanated from inside Citizens Bank Park and echoed throughout the region.

Redemption remains at least a day away.

"We're cursed," said Steve Levay of Furlong, Bucks County, who found himself huddling among the shivering masses in the ballpark corridors as the suspension was announced. "This doesn't happen to any other city. Only here."

He assessed the situation as "miserable," which seemed to be the ballpark consensus.

"It's never easy in Philadelphia," observed David Sarnoff, 39, of Margate, who was watching the game with his brother Michael.

At Tailhook, a bar in Mayfair, Brian McGovern was girding himself for the worst before the game even began.

"I won't believe it until it actually happens," said the 35-year-old electrician.

When the game was halted, he was at a loss for words. "It's almost . . . " he paused, shook his head and continued: "This does not surprise me."

He ducked outside to check the weather, and came back soaked through.

"These are tears, years of tears," McGovern said, pointing to his drenched jacket.

His friends gave him grief for worrying.

"Typical Philly sports fan," said Amanda Malone. She was confident that the Phillies are going to win.

She was not the only optimist among the ranks of the dejected.

"It's been 25 years. Another night's going to matter?" said Joe Esposito, 21, a Temple University student, standing in the rain outside the park.

Douglas Petock, a patent agent from Valley Forge, emerged from the stadium in flip-flops, shorts, a T-shirt and a multicolored terrycloth bathrobe. He said the suspension of the game didn't bother him at all.

"Philly is going to do this. This is what Philly is," he said, explaining that a world championship simply wasn't going to come the easy way.

The game will resume tonight, weather permitting.

From the perspective of Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, the rainout was inarguably bad news. At first, he found the bleak forecast encouraging.

"Wind chill in the 30s. That's good. That'll sober people up," Ramsey said.

But when the game was suspended, Ramsey's commanders were disappointed at the lost opportunity for a subdued celebration.

"It was almost perfect," said Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel. "We would have won. The rain would have kept most people inside. We would have battled a few fools and then gone home."

Before the game was called, police were hunkering down at historic hot spots like South Philadelphia and Mayfair. Authorities went so far as to remove public trash cans from those areas, and asked nearby tavern owners to serve their drinks in plastic cups instead of bottles, lest they be used as post-game projectiles.

There were a few isolated arrests, but no major incidents were reported. Police did disperse a large crowd that had gathered outside McFaddens bar at Citizens Bank Park just after the game was suspended.

Steve Alspach, 21, of Williamstown, N.J., was one of the people told to leave. He stood, forlorn, in a soaked Phillies jersey, none too pleased with the weather, the rain delay or Philadelphia's finest.

"It's cold and raining. The cops came armed with nightsticks," he said, with no beer - and nowhere to go.

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