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It's not just New Jersey between us

Philadelphians have waited a long time for this shot at New York.

I think it's safe to say this World Series is more important to Philadelphia than it is to New York.

Every Philadelphian wants to beat the Yankees. I'd say our reason is special. It comes down to that great Philly word attitude.

I remember when a group of Fire Department officials visited St. Christopher School in the Far Northeast in the early 1950s. They came to teach us about fire safety and tell all the old horror stories. But most of all, they came on a kind of public-relations tour for the city.

The main pitch from the big fire official from Center City was about Philadelphia, and how it really had nothing to be ashamed of compared to New York. Sure, New York was Metropolis and all that, the guy in the uniform told us as Sister stood by. But our city had the "first fire department," the "first free library," even the "first zoo."

Yes, New York had all the tall buildings, including the Empire State Building. But we had the old buildings, such as Independence Hall.

I don't know why I remember that pitch we got that afternoon. But I suspect we knew even then that it was kind of desperate - one of those "it's what you do with what you got" things.

My father brought my brothers and me up on the same line. He had been in the Navy during World War II and worked at the Navy Yard in the intelligence section. Philadelphia, he would point out endlessly, had the "largest freshwater port" in the country. Largest freshwater port. Translation: OK, New York's port is bigger.

All this infield chatter between Philly and New York probably got started a very long time ago. We were once second only to London in the British Empire. We were the top city at the time of independence but ended up serving as a seat-warmer capital while Washington got built. Meanwhile, New York grew into Gotham.

In 1950, the Phillies won the National League pennant. Those Whiz Kids were something. But when they got to the World Series, they lost four straight to DiMaggio and the Yankees.

We got only five runs in that sweep, and zero home runs. It was a pitchers' series, and the Phils just didn't have the bats.

They didn't have the bats all through the 1950s. How many games did Robin Roberts lose 2-1? Or 3-2? I can't count 'em.

Growing up, I felt it personally through all those late summer nights at Connie Mack Stadium. In one of those really bad seasons in the late '50s, I remember they even used shortstop Granny Hamner, once a Whiz Kid, as a relief pitcher.

It took a very long time for the city to get over all that. That fire official talking to us at St. Christopher understood as much.

The funny thing is, many of us who grew up in Philadelphia love New York as much as anyone else. The Pennsylvania Society even has its big December gala at the Waldorf Astoria every year. It's just when the cities end up in direct competition that the whole thing comes up again.

So when New Yorkers see the "Yankees suck!" signs in the stands at Citizens Bank tomorrow, and the faces that go with them, they should think about history. They should consider that there's a lot riding on this series down here. The people of Philadelphia have waited a long time for this.

This Amtrak Series carries higher stakes than taking down the best American League team, with its 103 wins in the regular season. It's about more than beating the team that has won the most World Series in history. It's about more than baseball. It's about Philadelphia finally besting New York.

Growing up as a Phillies fan, I developed a notion about life and how you deal with the situation you're handed. Life, I say, is like this: You're a relief pitcher for the Phillies in the late innings. Say it's the seventh, and the team's down by two. It's your job to get the other side out for three innings and keep it from scoring any more runs.

But the whole time, you know that not even that will win the game. No, not even perfect pitching will do that. To win, you need the batters to deliver the runs, too.

In other words, you need something going for you in the situation. You need some luck. You need some batters!

This year, you may have noticed, the Phillies have the batters.