Requiem for a Dream Series

So I guess we didn’t get the Series we expected. That sentiment works two-fold for me. On the one hand, I really did not expect the Phils to have this much trouble with a Yankee team I thought they matched up really well against. And on a personal level? Two years ago, never would I have dreamed I’d have experienced a World Series/Post Season in Philadelphia the way I did this year. To be that close to team I grew up with, on the field, in the media room, in the locker room, and even with my friends for a few innings?! It was a dream series in more ways then one.

On a professional level, I had the privilege and the proximity to get photographs that will get huge page views throughout my parent company and on a personal level, I will cherish those photos for a lifetime. (I don’t even mind that I broke the bank on some lenses just for this occasion!). I also got to be shoulder to shoulder with some of the best photogs in the business and got to be a fly on the wall to how they go about their craft. I learned more then I could ever put in a blog, before I even got my camera out of my bag. These guys and girls, their equipment, and their expertise are something to behold.

And speaking of being a fly on the wall? The sights and sounds of this series will give me stories for a lifetime. (Like I need more stories for this life!). Working in Philadelphia and being older then the average player, I am immune to the star-power of the current players (for the most part anyway!). But when I saw a Jay-Z, or a immortal players from my youth like Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt, Phillies alum like Darren Daulton and Micky Moriandini, national broadcasters I looked up to like Peter Gammons and Joe Buck, the cast of Glee running amok in the interview room, Biff Henderson shooting a spot for Letterman, the great Philadelphia sportswriters and brodcasters I grew up enjoying like Jason Stark, Big Daddy Graham, Chris Wheeler and Les Bowen. And of course, the palpable absence of one Harry Kalas. His name came up often by the locals and the nationals alike with a great fondness and sense of loss. When I got my press pass this year, the first pass I ever had for the Phillies, Harry the K was who I most looked forward to meeting. Harry died April 13 of this year, before I even used my pass for the first time.

So to positively paraphrase something Cole Hamels said, “BRING ON NEXT YEAR!” I think the Phillies learned an awful lot from this Post-Season and should be awfully proud of what they accomplished. Like the team I followed I also learned a ton. Here’s hoping we both get to apply those lessons to the Post-Season next year!

Tony Romeo

Here is a Link to all the World Series content I produced: (since deleted by the sands of internet time. 🙁 )