Philadelphia

Philadelphia – Our boys did a little thing the other day. The Philadelphia Phillies became the National League Champions, secured their spot in the World Series, and the city turned red with excitement. In fairness, we were bleeding red before that, in the weeks post-season when this scrappy team fought their way to the last post-season spot, everyone got excited. Everyone, not just the die-hard fans, the fair-weather fans, the “check the score so I can pretend to talk about it at the office” fans – everyone, an entire city. Why? Because we’re Philly. And to understand that, you have to know more about us.

Philadelphians are insanely proud to be from Philadelphia. We are a blue collar town with a sometimes questionable reputation. We have history, theater, museums, sports teams, the nation’s first zoo, and great restaurants. We are the literal foundation of the US – the Declaration of Independence – the Constitution – all here. We can be the nicest people in the world and the most surly drivers – just attempt to go to Wawa. We’ll make sure to politely hold open the door for you, but we’re cursing you out if you don’t know how to aggressively exit the parking lot. What’s a Wawa, you ask? Wawa is the magical place that provides the coffee we thrive on and the food that feeds our late night cravings – they even have cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, and pork roll sandwiches, though it’s not where you want to go for any of those things. Ask a local. They can tell you the best places within a two mile radius.

Our reputation is both a chip on our shoulder and a source of pride. We are not embarrassed by it, it is a badge of honor. To say you are from Philly is tuff – rough, edgy, cool. We don’t stand the people from the suburbs that claim they’re from Philly – they’re not. Even within the city, there is a certain hierarchy of neighborhoods – you can say you’re from here, but where are you from exactly? To say you are from Fishtown, South Philly, or Kensington (back in the day), holds a different respect than Somerton, Fox Chase, or Rhawnhurst. Personally, I came from Olney, which is admittedly, now, the wrong side of the tracks, but doesn’t quite hold the luster of some of the other more notorious ‘hoods. There’s an additional element of camaraderie if you grew up Catholic. Not so much now, as the faith has had its shakeups, but years ago, it was a predominantly Catholic city. So when people asked where you were from – it meant what parish and what high school did you go to? Catholic school veterans are a niche breed within a secular city. Are you a Judge guy or a North boy? Did you go to Dougherty? Are you a Bambi? Did you roam the halls of Ryan? These things mean something to Philly natives.

Philly has seen its better days. She is languishing under the current political administration (another thing about Philadelphians, we’re bitter about politics, a democratic city who never quite likes their democratic leaders). It’s not always safe to be here right now and the neighborhood you’re in doesn’t necessarily matter because crime is everywhere, and consequences don’t exist. Even Wawa is struggling to stay. The prices are high and the taxes enormous. The natives are restless and want to leave – half-heartedly. The other half of their heart says – I’m a Philadelphian, we stick.

This is what Philadelphia is – in a world of Brad Pitt’s, we are the Jack Blacks. It’s not classy. It’s real. It’s true. It’s, much like our beloved Flyers mascot, Gritty. We work hard, we play hard, and we fight hard. When the chips are down, we have each other’s backs and when we win – we win together. We are the Phanatics – the ride or die fans who don’t fit in anywhere else. We have our own dialect. We go “down the shore” and we drink “wooder” and we bleed green for the “Iggles.” Our sentences are often peppered with profanity. You know a Philadelphian when you hear one and no one better tell us that we’re wrong. We celebrate victories by congregating, climbing poles, and causing mayhem. We don’t care if you like us or not, in fact we secretly like it when you hate us. It ignites our pride. We are authentic, original, fearless, and unapologetically us.