To the 2023 Phillies: It was so fun while it lasted

After the Phillies took the National League Championship Series title over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 last year, Bryce Harper said, “If we have 46,000 people in the stadium, that’s 46,026 cause we’re all in this together … if you’ve got Phillies across your chest and you’re a fan, you’re part of our team.”

A few months ago, I shared one of the 46,026 stories within Citizens Bank Park on any given game day. It is the story of “125 Champs.”

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On Oct. 21, 2022, a group of complete strangers from the Philly area had seats in Section 125 for Game 4 of the NLCS, vying for the opportunity to experience the magic of Phillies championship baseball — a thrill not felt in more than a decade. The game started off slow, and I called my cousin, Shan, a fanatical fan, for a pep talk. By midnight, the Phillies had crushed the Padres 10-6, and we had formed a little team of our own. Since that night, we’ve been held together by texts, memes, gifs, and emojis from the guy listed in my phone as “Dude Behind Us” (even though I know his name now), as well as the other people I was lucky enough to meet in Section 125.

Our story did not end last season. As this year’s team began once again picking up steam, the texts started coming. Once we clinched the wild card position, it wasn’t long before we were joking that one of us would play the lottery, buy a suite, and have an official reunion.

We are undefeated when watching a game together in the playoffs. 1-0. Science.

On Oct. 9, I received an email from the Phillies to purchase nine tickets for the 125 Champs crew. They remembered us from the op-ed I sent them. We had until the end of the workday to buy tickets for Oct. 12, Game 4 of the National League Division Series. At the time, the Phillies were leading 1-0 in a best-of-five series against the Atlanta Braves; Game 4 could be the day they took the division title. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, but I didn’t have time to ask everyone if they could — or afford to — go.

Quickly, a member of Section 125 — Corey, Dude Behind Us’ sister-in-law, someone I’ve met in person only once — sent me a large sum of money to help cover the cost, so I could buy the tickets without waiting for everyone’s responses. We can’t lose the opportunity, she said. Us Philly people are bad to the bone, right?

It wasn’t hard getting the group back together. Some could only be there in spirit, so my cousin, Shan, joined us from Virginia, her first time in the Bank (her superstitions usually tell her to stay home). Throw in my best friend, Katie, who came along for the ride.

On game day, the scene at the ballpark was happy chaos as masses of people swarmed toward their seats, strangers high-fiving and chanting. When we reunited with the “125 Champs” in our new section — 136 — it was more high-fives and hugs. Even though it had been a year since that chance meeting and most of us hadn’t seen each other since then, there was no awkwardness. It felt natural.

Even though the game was scoreless for a while, the stands were anything but quiet — we screamed, “Attaboy, Harper,” took selfies, yelled taunts at the Braves, and fit in catch-ups about home life and work. At one point, the tension of the game got to me, so I took a stroll with Katie, and that’s when Nick Castellanos hit his first solo homer of the night. Katie and I jumped in each other’s arms and celebrated with some other randoms buying beer. Then Trea Turner did his part and hit a solo homer in the 5th, giving us a 2-1 lead.

The Bank felt like it was going to collapse around us when Castellanos hit his second homer of the night, a 415-foot blast into left field, which made him the first player in MLB history to hit back-to-back homers in postseason play. All you could see were waves of red in the air.

Finally, after watching close calls that could have easily blown our lead, the final strike was thrown. We were going to the National League Championship Series!

After singing, dancing, and embracing through the aisles, we reconvened at the Harry Kalas statue to meet up with two other guys from our original 125 group, who had already gotten seats in Section 143. More celebrations and recaps. Some of us stayed in the parking lot long after the game, dancing, singing, and rehashing our day, laughing until we cried.

We decided this couldn’t be our last encounter. We knew, given the cost of tickets, it would be hard for us to watch another game together in person. Even if we did, it’s hard to imagine replicating the night the Phillies clinched the 2023 NLDS, or the night we all met. The 4-2 slow death Tuesday of our 2023 World Series dreams finalized that. But we will find a way to be together again, even if it’s in a dive bar in Delco. For now, we hold hope for spring.

For now, we hold hope for spring.

To every single person who has walked into the Phillies stadium — players or fans — we are not just faces in a crowd. We are swarms of stories, blending and building on each other, year after year. We all have them. “125 Champs” is just one of many I hold close to my heart.

To the 2023 Phillies: It was so fun while it lasted. You are a special group of guys. Keep giving us stories to tell.

Brigid Ward is a high school English teacher and writer. She is a busy mom and an avid Philadelphia sports fan.