First of all, I’d like to apologize for attending Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS in Phoenix, Arizona. I have been to three Phillies games this postseason: those two and Game 2 of the NLDS in Atlanta. I think I might be the problem.

That being said, here’s how it went at Chase Field:

First of all, I got really, really lucky in terms of transportation, or the lack of the need for it. I attend college at Arizona State University on the Downtown Phoenix campus, so I can walk to the stadium, and I did so twice!

Because of that proximity, I’ve been to Chase Field numerous times to watch random regular season games over the past three seasons. They have great student deals on tickets; we can buy bleacher tickets for $5 some nights. In the regular season, I’ve never seen Chase Field full, or even remotely full. The most populated I’ve seen that ballpark was a regular season game against the Cincinnati Reds in August of this year, and I attributed that to the Elly de la Cruz effect. The Dbacks fans weren’t outnumbered, but their attendance was definitely matched by Reds fans.

(I showed up to that game in full Phillies gear. I received countless confused looks. It was very funny to me.)


Chase Field was full for the NLCS.

I sat up in the 300 sections for both nights, and I was honestly floored at just how many Dbacks fans showed up. I’ve lived here for three years now, and the Dbacks have never been high in Arizona sports rankings as far as fan support goes. Phoenix is a basketball town above everything else. The Cardinals and the Dbacks switch off as a distant number 2, and the Coyotes are playing professional hockey in my university’s rink, so there’s that.

Well, apparently people are Dbacks fans. They showed up in droves and kept the energy up all game. Both games I attended were comeback victories, so I thought some fans might have left early, but no one did. It was honestly an impressive showing. I had no idea they had it in them, and I’ll give credit where credit is due.

That being said, the atmosphere at Chase Field was nowhere near Truist Park in Atlanta, much less Citizens Bank Park. Even when batters were up with two strikes and two outs, a good chunk of fans stayed planted in their seats. It was an older crowd than the one I saw in Atlanta or the ones I’ve seen in Philly, which makes sense given Arizona’s status as a popular retirement destination. The crowd was loud (I don’t know if I’ll ever get ‘let’s go Dbacks’ out of my head), but as far as the physical intimidation factor goes, I was never outright nervous to be an opposing fan in that ballpark like I was occasionally in Atlanta.

Speaking of opposing fans. Philly SHOWED UP. Walking into Chase Field both days, I was part of a crowd that had a massive contingent of Phillies fans, a good number of whom made the cross-country trip. Before Game 3, I struck up a friendship with a man behind me who grew up in Broomall, where I also grew up. However, there are also a lot of Philly transplants living in Arizona already. The man sitting next to me at Game 4 was from Swarthmore but had been living in Tucson since the 90s. It was easy to strike up conversation and to share in the community of being a Phillies fan, even when we were two thousand miles away from the region.

I was one of the many fans waiting above the Phillies dugout before Game 4. Not only did I make my first John Clark Twitter appearance (that’s me in the pink hat), I got to give Phillies translator Diego Ettedgui a Red October bracelet! Shoutout to Diego for being such a cool dude:

I brought bracelets for other players too, but they were pretty locked in and they had a job to do so I didn’t want to distract them. Maybe next time.

The Phillies losing Game 3 and then Game 4 in such a fashion as they did took a toll on me. Therefore, I did not go to Game 5. Not only had the ticket prices jumped once again (hey Diamondbacks, if Arizona won’t love you at your $9 get-in price, they don’t deserve you at your $150 get-in price), I was physically and emotionally spent. The name Craig Kimbrel popped up in my nightmares. I couldn’t stomach attending another loss like that. But despite the outcomes, I had a great time at Game 3 and 4 and was only told to go F myself once!

To close this out: the Phillies only won Game 5 because I elected to watch it from my couch. So you’re all welcome. Go Phils.