When a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 14 years reaches the postseason, everyone catches Phillies fever, even unexpecting Penn students.
Following a remarkable comeback - the Phils made up seven games on New York Mets with 17 games to go - the hometown nine went on a tear and won the National League Eastern division.
The perennial losers have caught the attention of the entire Philadelphia area, and the atmosphere is electric.
There's the typical local, like freshman Dave Frankenfield. The Phoenixville, Pa., native skipped class yesterday to watch the 3:00 playoff game and has been a fan all his life.
But a student from Turkey was a less-than-obvious candidate to pull for the local team in October.
Ismail Albayrak has seen one baseball game in his life, but is still a Phillies fan.
"I've heard that the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees are the best, but my team is the Phillies now," said Albayrak, who went to the game on Saturday as part of Penn's English Language Program.
He admits to not really knowing what was going on, but enjoyed himself for the most part.
"During the game some cameras showed us on the big board," Albayrak said as a result of he and his friends holding up a "Let's go Phillies!" sign. "It was definitely cool to see us on the screen."
Many other students in his program have also taken a liking to their new local club. Some know the players by name, some have been to multiple games, and Japanese native Masakazu Fujiwara has even collected all but two of the players' autographs.
Albayrak has been impressed with the energy around this team.
"So many teams' fans could leave the stadium when they understood that their team would lose the game," he said. "It shows me that Philadelphia really loves its team."
The upstart club isn't just getting new fans - it's also adding them from teams whose seasons have ended.
Emily Vance purports to be a Mets fan, but has found it hard not to root for the Phillies now that they've knocked her team out.
It was no doubt painful to watch her squad crumble as the season reached its end - especially for someone who scheduled her move-in in August around going to the Mets-Phillies series. Still, she's not bitter about the whole situation.
"It's hard not to like the Phillies," Vance said. "I have a lot of respect for a team that was able to do that. . The players are very personable, they're likable guys, and there's not much to dislike."
Vance also feels the buzz around campus gives her more of a reason to hope the Phillies advance to the World Series.
"I think that makes me root for the Phillies even more, being in Philadelphia and having that as my home now," Vance said. "Definitely having a team being successful and in the playoffs is a huge plus for the city in terms of enthusiasm."
And with the Eagles at 1-3, the Sixers and Flyers coming off of losing seasons, for the first time since 1993 perhaps Philadelphia can be considered a baseball town once again.
