John Gonzales from the Philadelphia Inquirer published a full article today about a guy who used to love the Phillies, but now doesn’t anymore. Sounds like just a slow sports day article, right?
Wrong. The article is amazing, in an absurd, mind-boggling kind of way. I’ve posted some highlights below:
It’s been an amazing ride for Phillies fans over the last few years, but not for Mike Cybularz. He got off a few stops back when the road was still bumpy and marked with potholes, and the final destination – a championship and a long-overdue parade – was still off in the distance….The 28-year-old East Norriton native grew up backing all the Philly teams, but he was most smitten with the Phils. His dad took him and his two little brothers to games when they were kids. He remembers watching a lot of bad baseball at the Vet, but he was young and confident his favorite team would become a winner, or at least a contender.
At this point the story sounds like it could be about the childhoods of about 20 different fan bases. But don’t worry, the table is just being set.
In 2004, when he was older and had some money in his pocket, Cybularz and friends bought partial season tickets for the Phils…During the ’04 campaign, as the Phils fought to find their form, Cybularz vowed that if the Fightin’s didn’t make the postseason, he’d be done with the team forever since that would mark a decade of waiting for the club to make the playoffs.
The Phillies finished 86 – 76 in 2004. No playoffs. No more Phillies for Mike. Oh, and guess what? if my dinner isn’t ready in the next five minutes, I vow to never eat dinner again.
…Cybularz hasn’t supported the Fightin’s since. Not when the Phils went on an improbable run to steal the NL East from the Mets in ’07. Not when they did it again in ’08 and then tore through the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays to secure the city’s first championship in 25 frustrating years. Not when the Fightin’s caravanned down Broad Street and Cybularz’s loved ones left him behind and joined countless other Phillies fans in celebrating the long-awaited title.”I would have loved to go to the parade,” he said, “but I didn’t – to prove a point.”
I love this. Mr. Gonzales’s only failing in writing this article was his failure to ask the follow-up question, “What, exactly, is that point?” This story reminds me of a kid I knew in elementary school. In order to convince his mother to buy him a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt, he promised that he would “like the ninja turtles FOREVER!!!!” If he had the resolve of Mike Cybularz, he would still be wearing that shirt. Totally tubular.
…his brother Kevin [asked] Mike to be his best man and organize a bachelor party involving a Phillies game, followed by a trip to Atlantic City for the entire crew…Instead of seeing the Phillies and then heading to A.C., Mike planned a different getaway to an even less-exciting city.
“We’re going to Baltimore,” Mike said, “to watch the Orioles play the Indians. What a terrible game.”
I think this is where we cross over from “personality quirk” to “mental disorder.”
Kudos, Mr. Gonzales, on a job well done.
Tags: irrational demands, john gonzales, mike cybularz, ninja turtles, philadelphia inquirer, phillies
(4.89 out of 5)
Ok, I usually don’t respond to things like this, but I just have to. I am a lifelong Braves fan, and as you all know, we only won the one championship in 1995 (mainly because not everyone on our team was roided out of their minds. I’m looking at you, Yankees…). I became a fan in the late 1980s. This was a time when 100 loss seasons were the norm. I mean, the stadium was so empty, you could literally buy an upper-deck ticket, wait until the 3rd inning, and move to RIGHT next to the field (Ted Turner hated seeing empty seats in the bottom bowl). In 1991, it was truly magical, and was amazing the next few years. Then in 1996, we have the best team, but lose in the World Series. We haven’t been back since, and have missed the postseason for coming up on four years.
This all said, I haven’t given up on the Braves once. I don’t care if we end up in last place this season, I love the Braves. And I know that this is entertainment rather than a lifelong reason for having some sort of irritating ‘point’ to make. I mean, really? With the world as it is today, can you not take yourself so seriously that you can’t enjoy the zenith of the Phillies? (Yes, I hate it that the Phils have made the Series for two years straight, but really…). It’s just ridiculous!
Mike Cybularz appears to have a chemical imbalance. Everyone knows the best bachelor party could be had at a Nationals v. Reds game!
Seriously, isn’t rooting for your team through good and bad the whole “point?” I wonder what measures this guy would have gone to if he were a Red Sox fan prior to 2004?
Matt – I agree with you completely about sticking with your team, no matter the results.
A few quibbles, though:
Didn’t the Braves play in the 1999 World Series?
Also, I’m not so sure that the Braves were the best team in 1996. I think that title belongs to the Indians, who went 99-62 with a +183 run differential. The Braves went 96-66 with a +125 run differential. Close, but I’d have to go with the Indians.
Yes, the Braves did play in the ’99 World Series, but we are still trying to forget that they were swept in 4.
Of course I am biased towards the Braves in 96, mostly based on pitching. But then again, the Indians were awfully good that season.