No poles are greased in Phoenix, despite there being plenty of them to climb for Phillies fans

So it won’t be a sweep for the Phillies after Thursday’s Game 3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Still, with many Phillies fans in town, there’s a nonzero chance for some Broad Street-style celebrations if the Phils clinch the series in Arizona.

That’s right, we’re talking about poles, Philadelphia’s oh-so-CrossFit way of celebrating.

» READ MORE: Greased pole climbing in Philly: Why we do it and why we love it

Already, former Philadelphians have made a point of taking advantage of ridiculously cheap playoff tickets, while some fans say they have bought tickets with the goal of stopping fans of the Diamondbacks from filling seats. Then there are the fans who are making the trip from Philly.

For their part, Phoenix officials sound tired of answering what is a perfectly fair and serious journalistic question: Has the city greased its poles?

They say the city is taking the same approach it did when hosting Eagles fans for the Super Bowl in February, which is to say, they’re not doing anything.

A Phoenix Street Transportation Department spokesperson said the city “does not plan to ‘grease’ any of the city’s light poles.”

An interesting stance given Chase Field — where these postseason games are being played — is a pole-climbers’ paradise.

Grace Del Pizzo, an Arizona State University journalism student, compiled a short video of all the vulnerable spots (as a joke, of course).

There’s the concourse next to the stadium, a maze of metal poles primed for mounting. Then there’s the art installation of three upright, giant baseball bats that hold up a sign that says Chase Field. There are even enormous baseball replicas that double as spherical bollards that shorter folks can climb if they want to join in the fun.

“They’re making it too easy,” said Del Pizzo in her video tour before issuing a disclaimer — she is not encouraging shenanigans.

Of course, not everything is suited for this Philadelphia tradition, she noted.

In February, Valley Metro chimed in on what was then known as Twitter to discourage everyone from climbing their light rail station poles. They said it was trespassing and more importantly, quite dangerous.

The catenary wires carry electricity, said the transit agency.

“You will be a fried Eagle,” was their warning, which still applies today.