Phillies and fans set for grand sequel

You've read about them all winter. You've watched the DVDs. You've replayed the images of that wonderful champagne-soaked October night over and over in your mind.

Now it's time to see them again - in person, in red pinstripes.

Five months after they answered Philadelphia's sporting prayers, the Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park tonight to run the engines a couple of times before embarking on defense of their World Series title Sunday night against the Atlanta Braves.

It's amazing how this game of baseball works sometimes.

When the Phils take the field for tonight's exhibition game, the team in the visiting dugout will be the same adversary from Oct. 29. The Tampa Bay Rays, champions of the American League, are back in town and they bring with them a reminder that time moves on and with it comes change.

Pat Burrell, whose ringing double off the center-field wall set up the go-ahead run in the clinching fifth game of the World Series, is about to begin his first season as the Rays' designated hitter after spending nine seasons with the Phillies.

Who could forget Game 5?

It didn't last forever, but didn't it seem that way?

Some cursed the weather when the rains came and forced the game to be halted for nearly 48 hours while the skies cleared. But looking back, the nasty weather made everything just a little more memorable. They say the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint, but when Game 5 resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning, with the score tied, it was a full-fledged sprint and the fans stood for every remaining heart-pounding moment.

The top of the ninth inning came and the Rays put the potential tying run on second base. A hush fell over the stadium, and the whole place held its breath as the anxiety level swelled. Then Brad Lidge unleashed that 0-2 slider and Eric Hinske swung over it. Exhale. Rejoice. Climb on the rooftops and shout:

"Oh, my God, we just won the World Series!"

That's what Lidge said when he fell to his knees, raised his arms, and looked to the heavens in amazement and thanksgiving.

And that's what you shouted in the stands, in the sports bars, in your living room.

"Oh, my God, we just won the World Series!"

You shouted those words to friends and loved ones, the ones still here and the ones who left before seeing the moment. You shouted them to people you'd never seen before, because on that night, there were no strangers, just Phillies fans.

Philadelphia's quarter-century wait for a major pro sports championship was over and the celebration was just beginning. Manager Charlie Manuel hoisted the World Series trophy, stepped to the microphone and bellowed, "Hey, this is for Philadelphia! This is for our fans." (Still gives you goose bumps, doesn't it?)

Two days later, a red sea of fans overtook Broad Street for a victory parade and followed the team to the ballpark where the World Series trophy was lifted once more.

Five months later, the confetti has been swept away and a new season awaits.

But memories of 2008 remain.

The men who provided them return home tonight.