Psychological fanfare: Phillies fans ensure empty Chase Field by any means necessary
By Mark Powell
Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) of the NLCS will not be at the madhouse that is Citizens Bank Park, as the Phillies have taken a 2-0 lead and largely dominated at home this postseason. Instead, Philadelphia must travel to Arizona and face the Diamondbacks in their house as they attempt to finish this series prior to a possible return to Philly.
Phillies fans are doing all they can to help, even from afar. Tickets for Thursday's Game 3 are surprisingly affordable for D'Backs fans, if they're able to find time off from school or work to attend. In perhaps the most savage way imaginable, Phillies fans are trying to take that option away from them, buying up the seats instead in hopes of keeping them empty.
Phillies fans are scooping up the cheap tickets for today's NLCS game in Arizona, just so Dbacks fans don't get them. 😂
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) October 19, 2023
A Phils fan in Australia called the @WIPMiddayShow today to tell them he bought four tickets: "It's my contribution to the World Series, hopefully victory." pic.twitter.com/Godbd11AO6
For those who live close enough to Chase Field to attend, they were rewarded by Phillies owner John Middleton pregame.
Phillies owner John Middleton going above and beyond to give a young fan a baseball. Awesome. pic.twitter.com/H3oIHYh9Dl
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) October 19, 2023
Phillies fans take over Chase Field: Can the Diamondbacks overcome a Red October?
Give Phillies fans some credit -- this is one of the more creative stunts I've seen by a fanbase in quite some time. Typically, ticket prices are so high it's not worth such a decision. I mean, who buys a seat to an MLB Playoff game just to not attend? In this case, the tickets can be had for under $20. Phillies fans likely consider it a donation, especially if it leads to an eventual series victory.
As for the Diamondbacks, manager Torey Lovullo has made it clear he doesn't care where his team faces the Phils next, they need to focus on what they can control.
“Look, we could be playing on the moon,”Lovullo said after Game 2. “Everybody is talking about coming into this environment, and I don't care. We have to play better baseball. Everybody has to be better. You can start with the manager and then trickle all the way down through the entire team. We've got to play Diamondback baseball. What we watched out there was not anything that we have done for a long period of time. So we've got to regroup. We have to regroup the troops and find a way to get it done.”
That's the mindset Arizona will need, especially if they're playing in front of a sea of red or empty seats.
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