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This October Philadelphia will be the Center of the Sports World

Author Steve Vassalotti

As of last night Red October is officially upon us. The Eagles are 3-0, but haven’t put together a full team performance yet. This means starting Sunday, October 1st, Philadelphia is will become the center of the sports world once again. The best sports town in the world, and one of the best sports complex areas in the world is about to be jammed down the sports world’s throat. Whether they like it or not, it’s happening. Let’s dissect it all.

Starting with the Phillies. Whichever genius in the Phillies PR department tossed out Red October back in the mid-00’s better be in upper management by now. The thought of 45,000+ maniacs partying together, swinging red rally towels (MLB banned the white ones, since baseballs are white) warms the heart. Phillies fans waving rally towels during the 2022 World Series.

A really good team making a run at a 2nd straight World Series appearance while using those same maniacs will garner national sports attention. It always does. Phillies Manager Rob Thompson told the media last year that an opposing coach in the playoffs expressed how frazzled those fans made his team. It’s an incredible testament to the passion of this city. If this doesn’t give you goosebumps, call a funeral home because you’re dead.

While all of this is happening at the ballpark, there is an undefeated football team beginning to get some air under it’s wings. By the time the wild card series begins the Eagles could be 4-0 with 2 sub-par teams as their next two opponents. The unfortunate thing is the NFL has scheduled the Eagles to be on the road for two straight weeks. Poor job by the schedulers. They should take into account how good a city’s baseball team is, and try to schedule it as an entire day of awesomeness for those cities. I know that’s probably asking too much, but one can hope!

If all goes according to plan for both the Phillies and the Eagles. Sunday, October 22nd could be a massive day down at the sports complex. The Phillies could tentatively have an NLCS home game, and the Eagles play on Sunday Night Football against another currently undefeated team, the Miami Dolphins. If the sports gods are good and just then they’ll make it happen for us. Starting next week Philadelphia becomes the center of the sports world once again, and this city becomes a party for 30+ straight days. Life is good in Philly when the sports teams are on fire.

Bryce Harper hits a home run in the 2022 World Series. Fans rejoice in the stands.

King of Philadelphia, Eagles Center Jason Kelce pumps up the crown before a World Series game in 2022.

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Chatting With Nick Nurse After His First Pitch at the Phillies Game

Is there anything better to do on a nice, beautiful late August day in the city of Philadelphia than to head down the Citizens Bank Park and catch a Philadelphia Phillies ballpark special afternoon game by the red-hot baseball team? Well, that is exactly what I did yesterday, and it turned out that I was not the only employee of the Philadelphia 76ers to have that idea because the recently hired new head coach, Nick Nurse, was also in the building!

Not only was Nick Nurse there to catch the game, but he also set the game in motion as he was the one to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Phillies took on the Los Angeles Angels. I must admit, the head coach was pretty impressive out there!

He actually threw from the rubber on the mound where the actual pitchers pitch from – most people cheat up a good ten feet so they can reach the plate. On top of that, he did a pretty spot-on impression of Craig Kimbrel’s windup, who is the closer for the Phillies.

Later on during the game, I had the chance to chat with Nick Nurse during the game, thanks to the Director of Fun and Game for the Phillies, John Brazer, and it was awesome. I congratulated him on the fantastic first-pitch performance and on the new head coaching job for the Sixers. He told me he is so excited for the NBA season to start and looks forward to a fun year for the 76ers.

For all my music lovers out there, here is a fun fact about Nick Nurse – he plays the guitar and is a big fan of Prince! I think that is something we can all get behind.

Unfortunately, the Phillies lost the game in the end, but it was still a lot of fun from the very first pitch. I even got shouted out on TV by Tom McCarthy and NBC Sports Philly. Plus, Bryce Harper hit his 300th career home run!

Although they lost, it looks like the Phillies are poised to make a run until late October, or, in other words, right up until the start of the Sixers’ season!

  • Matt Cord Chatting With Nick Nurse and John Brazer

    Nick nurse

    Matt Cord, Nick Nurse, and John Brazer chatting after Nurse’s first pitch at the Phillies. It was a strike right down the middle.

  • Matt Cord, Nick Nurse, and John Brazer

    nick nurse

    Matt Cord, Nick Nurse, and John Brazer at Citizens Bank Park. Nick is going to love coaching in Philly.

  • Nick Nurse and the Phillie Phanatic

    nick nurse

    Nick Nurse posing with the Phillies Phanatic. The best mascot in baseball.

  • Nick Nurse Impersonating Craig Kimbrel

    nick nurse

    Nick Nurse in his windup before his first pitch. Look familiar Phillies fans?

  • Nick Nurse First Pitch

    Here’s the video of the first pitch. Nick is an athlete.

  • Matt Cord Getting A Shout Out During The Broadcast

    Here’s the video of Matt Cord getting a shout out on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s broadcast. So Cool!

  • Sixers Post on Twitter

    Great photos from yesterday’s game. Courtesy of the Sixers Twitter.

  • First Pitch View From The Field

    Here’s a different angle of the first pitch. Still just as great.

  • Nick Nurse Taking The Field

    Nick Nurse taking the field at Citizens Bank Park prior to his first pitch. Just wait until he takes the court at the Wells Fargo Center!

  • Welcome to Philly

    The Phillies sending their warmest welcome to Nick Nurse. Their new neighbor!

  • 300 Home Runs For Bryce Harper

    Congrats to Bryce Harper. What an achievement.

  • Bryce Harper Hitting #300

    His swing is so pure. I can easily see another 300 homers coming his way.

  • Photo Reactions to #300

    The joy on the players faces says it all. What a team.

  • What A Moment, What A Milestone

    A cool video tribute put together for the Phillies. Hopefully, one of many this year.

Steve Vassalotti is co-host of “The Matt Cord Show with Steve Vassalotti” weekday mornings 6a-10a on 102.9 WMGK. He has been with the station since 2015. For WMGK he writes about inane nonsense that surrounds our daily lives, sports, food and other various topics. Steve writes about Philadelphia lifestyle content, the Philadelphia Eagles culture and trending topics.

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