Mikal Bridges, a Philly native and former Villanova star, revels in Phillies’ World Series run

The Twitter timeline, with posts primarily in all caps, could have belonged to any Phillies fan.

Oct. 7: A singular annoyed emoji quickly followed by “NOW IM SMILING AGAIN” after the ninth-inning comeback in Game 1 of the NL wild-card series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Oct. 14: “BRYCEEEEEEEE,” followed by the iconic “Hit that Jawn” photo from the Game 3 NLDS win over the Atlanta Braves.

Oct. 18: “SORRY IM LATE BUT SCHWARBY IS BACK” and “JUST BREATHE !!!!” during the Game 1 NLCS victory in San Diego.

Oct. 23: “ON TO THE ... NEXT !!!!!” after Bryce Harper’s World-Series-clinching bomb.

Oct. 29: “GAME WON” following J.T. Realmuto’s extra-inning homer against the Houston Astros.

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Yet those emotional and entertaining stream-of-consciousness posts were from Mikal Bridges, the Phoenix Suns standout wing, Philly native, and former Villanova star whose commentary captured the Phillies’ magical postseason ride. The sports gods robbed Bridges of a shockingly serendipitous opportunity to watch Game 7 from his hometown on Sunday, the night before the Suns’ only visit to the Wells Fargo Center this season. Bridges, though, still reveled in being captivated by his Phillies from afar.

“I’m just like, ‘What a time. I wish I was back home experiencing it,’” Bridges told The Inquirer before Monday’s Sixers victory over his Suns.

The Phillies are the local professional team to which Bridges remains most connected. His favorite NFL team is the Los Angeles Rams because he played with the “Greatest Show on Turf” teams anchored by Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk on the Madden video game. He can no longer cheer for the Sixers because, well, he plays for an opponent after the 2018 draft-night trade from Philly to the Suns that is still lamented by Sixers fans.

But Bridges has attended more Phillies games as a fan than those of any other team, thanks to regular trips to Citizens Bank Park with his grandfather. Although he loved Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins was Bridges’ favorite player because he also wore No. 11 at the time. When the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, a middle school-aged Bridges raced out of his home to celebrate in the streets with his neighbors.

The Arizona Diamondbacks even held a Mikal Bridges appreciation day — on his 26th birthday, no less — during an August game against the Phillies in Phoenix. It was the result of a friendly bet between Bridges and the Diamondbacks on a series earlier in the season, which the Phillies won. Bridges opened his Diamondbacks jersey to reveal an “I ride with Philly Rob” T-shirt underneath as a nod to manager Rob Thomson, and talked about how much he enjoyed the “day care” crew of Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott.

“I’ve always been in love with it,” Bridges said of the Phillies franchise.

Because Bridges also has a slightly significant night job, he found creative ways keep track of playoff games.

World Series first pitches were at 5:03 p.m. out west, meaning he could watch the first couple of innings and perhaps sneak in a score update at halftime of Suns games. He watched the final out of Game 1 on his phone before a live postgame television interview, clapping while talking about the “Fightins” instead of his 27-point outing against the New Orleans Pelicans. He wore a Phillies jersey and cap to a recent news conference.

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When Bridges pulled out his phone at halftime of the Suns’ Saturday win against the Portland Trail Blazers, however, he saw the Houston Astros celebrating. That dashed his hopes of experiencing Game 7 in his hometown.

But Bridges, like his fellow Phillies fans, savored his favorite baseball team’s unexpected playoff ride.

“Being the underdog and winning big games and going to the World Series, it’s just crazy,” Bridges said. “… To fight through that, it’s dope, man. It was fun to watch.

“Obviously, I wish we [had] won. But still, for the city itself, it just got them all boosted up.”