Blame Phillies' Loss On Security!
Could a Fiat have helped the team?
Blame Phillies' Loss On Security!
If the Fightin's had let Luigi Borda do his magic, the team might've won this weekend. At least, that's what Borda believes, and I believe in Borda. So that's good enough for me.
Readers of this blog might recall a post from February 2009, when I wrote about Borda, a South Philly schoolteacher who is convinced, when it comes to the Phillies, that his Phillies-decorated, 1966 Fiat - or "Phiat" - is key in whether the team makes it to the World Series.
(Click here for a cute video about Borda, which aired on 6-ABC News.)
So Borda says the Fightins' would've nailed Saturday night's playoff game had he been allowed to drive his Phiat around Citizen's Bank Park, to bring the team luck. The way he did in 2008, when the guys won the World Series. And the way he did last year, when the team almost recaptured the title.
But on Saturday, security stopped him at the gate.
No!
Tell it to us from the beginning, sir.
"When the Phillies found themselves down three games to one, I thought it was time they needed LUIGI and the Philly Fiat to do their drive around," Borda e-mailed me this morning. "So I decided to drive around the stadium Thursday after school, and of course the Phillies won later that night.
"Since the game was in San Francisco, it wasn't a problem driving around. However, [Saturday] was a home game and with all the increased security, the Bank is now gated all around. I told them they didn't realize that the Phillies needed me to drive around, but security wasn't buying it.
"I tried all three sides and was turned away each time, so I had a bad feeling about the game. And, of course, you know what happened. Fiat and I feel like we let the Phillies down. I knew I should have snuck around at sunrise."
Damn right he should have. I don't know who we should be more upset with - Borda, or security. (I cannot and will not blame Ryan Howard. I'd crawl over broken glass to hand him a cup of Gatorade...).
At least Borda's car is given due respect in the children's book Borda penned, called Luigi Gets Around. Click here to read my blog post about it, penned in happier days, when we were World Series-bound.
The guy is a idiot.— ALJ- So it wasn't all the guys left on base that made the phillies lose. Good to know.— cuso20
- I thought this was funny.. you people need to get a sense of humor!— Tony A.
- Maybe they needed Luigi's car to drive them "home" since they were constantly stranded on base. Funny story.— TerryW
At first I thought this was a great tale told in the spirit of taking it on the chin and starting to think about next season - thanks Phillies for a riveting October again! But then I started thinking about a school system that hires nuts like this and started wondering if he teaches Creationism as well. What, me worry?- Call it what you will - when Luigi and the Philly Famous Fiat drove around - we won. Then he's denied - and we can't get a win. I'm with Luigi on this one. Blame it on security! ;0)— Mariano215
- Should be the guy is AN idiot...nevertheless, he's funny!— A person
Comment removed.- Where, oh where, is your sense of humor, you silly nay-sayers? Do you really - truly - not get that this is just a funny thing that this man loves to do, for the laughs it brings everyone? Really? Truly?— ronnie polaneczky
- To all of you who go to that building with a cross on the top every Sunday, or whenever. And you sip wine, eat some dry piece of bread and sing silly songs, to me that is just as silly as some guy driving around CBP in a Fiat!— my3cents
Security ny a**. It'd the Double-Bubble Brained hayseed manager who is to blame.- Maybe we need the fat Charlie back— tiredoftheb#
- He should have driven down the middle of the plate. Howard wouldn't have swung at it.— Nomoredems
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
