This Is Why Philadelphia Gave Chase Utley A Standing Ovation Again...And Again...And Again
2 home runs, including a grand slam in a 15-5 loss. Yet, we cheered anyway, Why would we do something like that? Well, few players are known as “Legends” in this beautiful city of ours. Sure, we have all time greats like Lefty, Schmidt, and AI. But contrary to popular belief, I personally don’t believe any of these men are walking legends. Now Brian Dawkins, that my friends is a legend. When he was introduced as a Denver Bronco in 2009, I don’t remember our fandom being questioned when we chanted “DAWKINS” during the coin toss of that game. And I certainly don’t recall our fan base being called weak after we chanted Dawkins name again as he scurried back into the locker room with a game leading, 7 tackles. Brian Dawkins is a legend and so is Chase Utley.
Chase Utley and his first place LA are in town to play the NL East Dodgers The answer why we people are going to cheer is a simple one, because he is Chase Utley. If you are a non-Phillies guy or gal, you will never understand what I mean by that. He was and always will be, The Man. A blue collar player that represented our fan base to a T. Sure, it’s hard to describe a millionaire who is playing a kids game as “blue collar” and that is exactly what made Chase Utley so special and beloved. He played the game hard, he played the game right and he never, ever let up.
People will cheer because Philadelphia was Chase Utley’s home and someone we will always welcome back. He played each game like it was his last. He would run up the base line on a weak ground ball to the pitcher just as hard as he would trying to stretch a double in the gap into a triple. He played through a hip injury in the 2008 World Series season that would cripple most men. During the latter portion of his tenure with the Phillies, he played through the same knee injury that ended most careers. Still, he went out and played 110% every damn day he had the strength to step on the ball field.
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We will cheer because he isn’t some coward like Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, JD Drew, Jonathan Papelbon or as Pat Burrell infamously called him, that “rat” Billy Wagner. Guys who got out of dodge when things weren’t going their way. He isn’t someone like Jayson Werth who road the coattails of three potential hall of famers to a huge payday. He isn’t a natural born loser like Bobby Abreu (with all due resepct) who was afraid of the warning track. He never demanded to be traded whilst in last place when we all knew as fans, that the loses were just eating at him. In fact, we wanted Chase to be moved for his dignity. We were so proud to hear his name at the Trade Deadline last year heading to a contender. Not because he overstayed his welcome, but because we wanted Chase to win. It just so happened that the cards aligned and as hard as it was for the fans and the Phillies organization, he was able to be traded to the contending, Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hell, we cheered him already when he returned already and poked 2 dingers, including a grand slam.
As well as during the 2015 NLDS because that was the good ol’ Chase we knew and loved. Typical Philly scum, amiright? The worst fan’s in America cheering as a injured player is carted off the field. On the contrary the slide last year that broke Ruben Tejada’s leg, is a perfect example of who Utley was. Was it dirty? Ehhh debatable. Did he mean to break his leg? Absolutely not. But, he broke up a double play in a playoff game and hey, that’s just (or at least it was) baseball.
Most importantly, we’ll cheer because he played in a Phillies uniform for 13, count em 13 years. In that time from 2003-2015, he was responsible for 63.7 Wins Above Replacement. Only one human being on the planet can say they are responsible for more wins during that same stretch than Chase. He helped give us a World Series. He shares a Major League record with Mr. October himself for most home runs hit in a single World Series. He was the catalyst for one of the most successful organizations in sports from 2007-2011. He was, and will forever be, The Man.
I guarantee there’s going to be people hating on the Philly faithful for cheering on Chase Utley. I guarantee it. However, when he was introduced as a Denver Bronco in 2009, I don’t remember the Philadelphia fandom being questioned when we chanted “DAWKINS” during the coin toss of that game. And I certainly don’t recall our fan base being called weak after we chanted Dawkins name again as he scurried back into the locker room with a game leading, 7 tackles. Brian Dawkins is a legend and so is Chase Utley. That is why Phillies fans will cheer. Now as you were.