So I bought the Sunday package this year for the Phillies and I’m about seven games in. I’ve gone to more games this year than I have in the previous 10.

The reason why I didn’t go was a factor of bad Phillies teams, college, lack of giving a shit, etc. One thing I’ve noticed this season is that CBP isn’t really a fun stadium to go to. Plenty of people must agree, because attendance is down 20% since 2019, the first Bryce Harper year, and the team is way better coming out of the COVID seasons. The suits will probably use some formula of pandemic + MLB lockout + slow start + lack of believability in the team to feed their bosses why they should continue to keep their jobs. Really all they have to do is look in the mirror and realize if you’re 10 years or older, the ballpark just isn’t fun. Every game they do the same shit they’ve been doing for the last 18 years. They play the same games on the jumbotron they’ve played since they opened the place. No one goes to the game wondering if the red or blue SEPTA bus is going to win today! Is the baseball going to be under the #1 helmet or #3 helmet? I think “What’s in the Box?” is a new one where a Phillie puts his hand in a box and tries to guess what he’s touching. “Is that the condom Pete Rose used with that 14 year old from Ohio?” I think Knebel did the bit Sunday. It was a snooze fest. At one point they put a literal box in the box.

Really all the Phillies have done this season to spice things up is hire an organist to play 90s rap songs between innings and call it a day. Don’t get me wrong, I can get down with Nuthin’ But A G Thang in B Minor, but Phillies fans are gonna need more than that. People in high school now probably can’t believe that back in 2007 CBP was the place to be in the summer. Tickets were affordable and the atmosphere was buzzing. From April to June, once a month me and my buddies would leave high school, booze on the train, and get standing-room only tickets and find seats in the 200s or 300s. Before you say, “yea that’s because they were winning,” note that the sellout streak didn’t start until mid-2009. This team was finding themselves in 2007 into 08, but they were still averaging 38k a game compared to 28k this season.

The 76ers ticket has effectively replaced the Phillies ticket for second hottest in Philly. It’s not just based off success either. Comcast completely revamped the Wells Fargo Center and the Sixers tweaked the in-arena entertainment experience. It’s 100% better than anything the Phillies do. If I have to watch that stupid magician perform on the dugout again this year I’m going to strangle myself with the Phanatic’s tongue.

This is all in-stadium experience, too. I haven’t even gotten to the Phillies broadcast part yet.

I’ve never been jealous of Mets fans in my life until this year. They’re LAPPING the Phillies in terms of atmosphere like the Phils race for Haas.

I’m sure you’ve seen Edwin Diaz’s entrances this summer. The one over the weekend that looks like him walking into a lions den straight out of the movie Gladiator as the trumpets blare and a camera follows him from behind has millions of views. When’s the last time you can remember CBP having this much juice? –

Buck Showalter would rather have his prostate explode than miss Edwin Diaz’s entrance:

 

Sure, it helps to be broadcasting one of the best teams in baseball while playing one of the most popular songs in the world right now. But here’s another example of a great, but simple, broadcast moment during Jacob DeGrom’s first start using a song from 50 years ago:

Compare those two SNY clips to anything you’ve seen in the last 10 years on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The camera following behind Diaz, the other camera watching DeGrom fire warm-up pitches from an angle the fan rarely sees, the shots of the crowd, everyone in the booth at SNY knowing to shut the hell up and just enjoy the moment. Now could you picture those two clips going that perfectly on NBCS Philly’s broadcast? Absolutely not. I love Kruk, but his head would explode if he had to wait 1:20 to speak. They’d have to tie RAJ up in the bathroom if they wanted to keep him quiet for 1:20. This Phillies team is surging and still there is a lack of excitement. The broadcast and stadium experience are just vanilla and you don’t realize it until you go to another market or see what they do on the broadcast for other cities.

We talked about it more with Mike Gill on Crossing Broadcast today: