Phils fans aren't green with envy

WEEK IN, WEEK OUT, Ben Vargas and Ramon Hernandez gather at the Halftimes Goodtimes bar in North Philadelphia.

They like them some Phillies.

"Strike 'em out, baby!," Hernandez, 37, shouts at Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton after a fifth-inning strikeout.

Hernandez, who owns a heating and air conditioning business, and Vargas, a property manager, became friends watching sports events at this bar. The North Philadelphia residents are reveling in a couple of facts: the Phillies are in the playoffs, the Eagles are playing well (they had been, anyway) and the two are drinking beers.

They watch the games on three huge flat-screen TVs. Two screens are dedicated to the Eagles, one to their beloved Phillies and all are mounted on a wall painted in Eagles' green. (Vintage baseball bats hang in between the screens.)

But frankly, this swath of North Philadelphia - at Diamond and Howard streets - was not caught up in Phillies' fever. In fact, most of the other dozen or so patrons here on this October Sunday are really, really into the Eagles - and thus moaning a lot even as the joyous baseball afternoon progresses.

Hernandez and Vargas, who brought along his wife Marilyn and some of their children, watch the Phillies game and keep an eye on the deteriorating Eagles situation.

"I'm a Phillies fan first," said Vargas, 38, dressed in an Eagles jersey and a green Phillies cap.

Hernandez points over at the the screens furthest away, sometime in the mid-afternoon. "We need to pick it up over here," he said, then motioned back to the screen in front of him, "but we're impressing on this side."

The Phils were in the lead, the Eagles weren't.

They have another friend Luis Vega, who is surfing every which corner of ESPN.com for fantasy-football information. Vega, 40, a Steelers and Boston Red Sox fan, jokes that he comes to Halftimes Goodtimes "just to see their faces when the Eagles lose."

Vega quickly adds, "No, I want them to win."

The Phillies 6-2 triumph over the Milwaukee Brewers, however, comes at a time when the Eagles are imploding. Hernandez and Vargas cheer the Phils, but are brought down by the Eagles soon-to-be loss.

"You can't print what I want to say about that game," Vargas said, pointing to the two screens. *