‘Earthquake mode’: Phils fans brought their A game to Game 1, even if their team didn’t

Steve Murden loved the Phillies in the lean years, when it seemed they couldn’t buy a hit and their rotation was shaky at best. After he had a heart attack, his first question to his doctor was: Will I be well enough to see my team in spring training?

(The answer was yes, and Murden hopped a plane for Clearwater soon after his release from the hospital.)

It figures that on Saturday, Murden insisted on being the first fan standing in the left-field gate line, waiting for admission to the Phils’ Game 1 of the National League Division Championship Series.

“I’ve been at this stadium when it was a third full,” said Murden, 62. “No way I would miss this day.”

Spirits were high as the Phillies began their postseason quest, with a sea of red-clad fans pouring into Citizens Bank Park to cheer the team on - even if the team didn’t ultimately deliver the outcome they hoped for.

“When the fans are behind the team, they’re golden,” said Kelly Chima, a fan from Hatboro.

This feels like a year of destiny, Chima said.

“The Eagles won the Super Bowl, and now the Phils are going to win it all,” said Chima. “It’s going to be great.”

Even Dodgers fans admitted there was something special about the Phils’ stadium on a playoff game day — electric in a way even the national TV broadcast couldn’t capture.

Joe Kaname and Mikio Mori flew thousands of miles to experience it — Kaname from Hawaii and Mori from Japan.

The two friends, die-hard Dodgers fans, met at LAX and then flew onto Philadelphia, arriving Saturday morning.

Before the gates to Citizens Bank Park even opened, the pair walked around, snapping photos and marveling at the growing crowd. Were they intimidated at walking into a place with a rep for being chilly to opposing teams’ fans?

Kaname smiled.

“A little,” he said. “I got lots of welcomes. Lots of people honking at me.”

The pair said they felt confident about Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani taking the mound, even if they worried about their team’s bullpen. But mostly, they just felt happy.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Kaname said. “We’re in Philadelphia!”

When Joe DiGiacomo snagged a ticket for Game 1, there was no question what he would be wearing: no matter the temperature, he was donning the red Phillies suit — a red polyester sport coat and matching long pants. To top the outfit off, he added custom Phils sneakers.

“I wear it opening day, and I wear it in the postseason,” said DiGiacomo, of Harrisburg.

The suit imbued him with courage — he feared no one, not even Ohtani.

“He’s nervous to pitch here,” said DiGiacomo. “We’re going to get to him.”

Saturday was Connor Wood’s first-ever postseason game.

He’s a Citizens Bank Park veteran — he and his grandfather, Frank Docchio (“Eagles pop, because I usually wear an Eagles hat”) share a partial Phils season ticket package.

And Connor, a first grader from Washington Township, had no nerves. He predicted a Phillies win.

“And Bryce Harper will hit a grand slam,” Connor said. “Like 2,000 meters long.”

Quinto Brown was philosophical about the game. Ohtani may be a future Hall of Famer, but that didn’t scare him, he said.

“If the Phils want to win the game, they’ll step up,” said Brown. “It doesn’t matter who’s pitching, how much they pay him.”

But Brown’s wife, Maureen, lacked Quinto’s calm. She was up half the night worrying about the playoffs, even though she said she has faith in the Phils’ bats and pitching.

Ultimately, she said, the fans will make the difference, she thought.

“We’re going into earthquake mode,” Maureen Brown said. “I’m not going to have a voice tomorrow.”