He flew 3,500 miles to see the Phillies and may not even be the most dedicated fan

Since becoming a Phillies fan in 2012, Dave Shaw of Southampton, England, has booked a week off every October, just in case the Phillies made it to the playoffs.

“Usually, by the end of September I’ll go into work and say, ‘I don’t need that week off anymore, guys,’” Shaw, 36, said.

But this wasn’t a usual year.

For the first time in Shaw’s decade-long fandom, the Phillies are in the playoffs, and Shaw is in Philly to catch his first postseason home game at Citizens Bank Park on Friday.

“I want to live every second of it,” he said. “I’m going to be a bag of emotions because I’ve always wanted to see the Phillies in Red October, and to finally experience it is going to be surreal. It’s going to be crazy.”

Brett MacMinn, 46, of Audubon, Camden County, cofounder of the Phandemic Krew, doesn’t have to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to get to Philly, just the Delaware River. He and his Krew have caught every away game of the Phillies’ postseason run so far at Citizens Bank Park. The staff there turns the TVs on for them at Ashburn Alley and they watch the games through the gates.

“Sometimes you can’t see the balls and strikes, but we still know what’s going on,” MacMinn said. “And if we do take our eyes off for a minute, there’s always somebody who’s watching to fill us in.”

The unusual viewing location is nothing new for the Phandemic Krew, which formed during the Phillies’ 2020 season, when fans weren’t allowed at games because of pandemic restrictions. Since they couldn’t be inside the ballpark, this group of die-hard Phillies loyalists gathered outside the gates to watch their team and taunt their opponents.

Members of the Krew were among the first people to walk into Citizens Bank Park when it reopened to fans for a Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves on April 1 last year, and the Krew will be in Section 301 on Friday when the Phillies take on the Braves again for their first postseason home game in 11 years.

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a party down there,” MacMinn said. “We’re not used to having winners like this. I’m 46 years old and I’ve only been to two parades.”

While MacMinn has been a Phillies fan since birth (”My first day in preschool I was wearing a Phillies shirt,” he said), Shaw fell in love with the team when he took a road trip across the U.S., in 2012, and stopped to visit a friend in Philly, who had tickets to a game.

“The first time I came here and I saw the complex and the fans’ passion I just knew this was it for me,” he said.

Shaw took his newfound fandom home to England, where he continued to follow the Phillies through MLB TV and learn all he could about the game.

“Because I was still fairly new to baseball I was like, ‘They’ll be good soon.’ Little did I know we’d be in for some barren years,” he said. “It was a lot of long nights and brutal years of sadness.”

In 2017, Shaw started a UK Phillies Facebook group and Twitter account, which is currently followed by more than 11,000 people. He began hosting meetups of fans at London’s Philly-themed sports bar, Passyunk Avenue. Shaw also travels back to the States every year (except for during the pandemic) to catch at least one Phillies game.

Being a Phillies fan abroad this year has been “a roller coaster,” he said.

“The intensity I’ve experienced watching these games is like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” Shaw said. “The series against the Cards was just incredible. I’ve never celebrated at 4 in the morning so much in my life. It was absolute euphoria.”

MacMinn agreed, noting that the Phandemic Krew has members in their 20s who barely remember the Phillies’ last playoff run.

“It’s been a whirlwind. Usually at this time of the year, for the past 11 years, we haven’t had the opportunity to have that excitement,” he said. “Everybody wants a reason to celebrate, and we’ve had that so far.”

When the Phillies win, the Phandemic Krew plays and sings along to “High Hopes,” in honor of their team and beloved late Phillies announcer Harry Kalas. And when it comes to superstitions, they’ve got a few of those too.

One day, when the Krew was gathered outside Ashburn Alley to watch the Phillies take on the Cardinals, someone started packing up their folding chair in the ninth inning.

“We were like, ‘You got to put that chair back up,’” MacMinn said.

And, for a hot second, the Krew even thought about traveling to Atlanta to catch the games, but quickly decided against it.

“We’ve been having such a good time outside the ballpark and, again, superstition,” MacMinn said. “Let’s not mess with it.”

About 20 to 30 members of the Krew will be in Section 301 with their flags and drums for this weekend’s games at the ballpark, where they’ve become well-known regulars.

“My brother said that walking through Citizens Bank Park with us is like that scene in Goodfellas where they walk through the restaurant,” MacMinn said. “We know the staff, security, everyone who works there.”

Shaw, who arrived in Philly after an eight-hour flight Wednesday, caught the game that night at XFinity Live! and made his first-ever visit to Wawa on Thursday. He plans to get an early start tailgating for the Friday and Saturday games (he and a friend have standing-room tickets to both).

“I’m prepared to lose my voice and for my arm to be sore with the rally towel,” he said. “Everyone says TV doesn’t do it justice and that when you’re in there, the Bank starts to shake. I can’t wait!”

Shaw flies back home Sunday, and if the Phillies move on, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to come back for another game. But, he hopes to be better prepared in the future.

“If this is the start of things to come for the next few years, I may just book the whole of October off next year,” he said.