Michael Smerconish: Making the P-rade even better
ON FRIDAY, Cole Hamels told the crowd at Citizens Bank Park, "One thing I can't wait to do is go down Broad Street for that parade again and again and again!"
As they say, from his lips . . .
But as we plan for those future parades, let's first record some lessons from last week's effort because, while it was a superb day, there was definitely room for improvement.
First off, get out of the gate sooner than noon. Like a 4 p.m. Eagles kickoff, the midday start gave too much time for booze and shenanigans. Let's step off at 10 a.m.
And while we're at it, we must find some way to make sure that public transportation doesn't get stretched beyond its limits again. SEPTA can't handle more than a million commuters suddenly showing up to ride its rails.
Reports of morning trains blowing by regional-rail riders in the suburbs - as many as 10 in a row, by some accounts - were topped just a few hours after the parade when SEPTA had to block all inbound regional trains to clear the tracks for the slew of departing rail cars. There are some heartbreaking tales out there about dads with sons who took a day off from work and school and never made it to the parade because they followed the public pleas not to drive.
Sure, when SEPTA hosts so many more riders than they do on a typical weekday, there are bound to be issues. The city and SEPTA implored people to use mass transit - and they did - but our system can't handle the passenger load that appeared on Friday.
Some balance between public transport and driving is the obvious solution.
And why start the parade at 20th and Market?
Instead, launch the party in North Philadelphia. We know that fewer and fewer African-Americans are playing baseball these days, and maybe seeing guys like Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard would do wonders for getting more kids in neighborhoods like Nicetown interested in our national pastime. At the very least, pushing off a mile north would spread out the route so everyone gets a better look. Maybe Temple University is an appropriate starting spot.
Speaking of vantage points, bag the flatbeds. Next time, every player gets a convertible with his name on it. It was hard to recognize some players out of uniform, particularly when surrounded by family and Phillies staff members.
Many were incognito in hats and sunglasses. Also, the Phils were either on one side of the flatbed or the other, so half the crowd was denied a good look.
Some found it odd that Pat Burrell rode with the Clydesdales. Not me - I thought he had the right idea.
And why not make it a real parade? It should consist of more than a few flatbeds or cars, especially when more than a million people were lined up for hours with nothing to see. Let's take advantage of that audience and invite some Mummers and a couple of local marching bands.
As for that finale, it was a shame that there were so many empty seats at Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park.
Whatever glitch accounted for this must be fixed. It took about 80 minutes for fans to claim about 112,000 tickets online last Thursday (a few more minutes and they were up for sale on eBay and elsewhere), so we know there was more than enough demand to fill the seats.
Get those people into the stadiums by the time the caravan arrives.
And while we're at it, let's make sure the players have a general idea of what's happening. I realize we can't always plan these things out in advance, but Chase Utley attributed his verbal slip to finding out he'd have a speaking part 10 minutes before he hit the stage.
Bottom line: Friday was a special day for Philadelphia, and a day the city and its champs got mostly right. But next time - and let's hope that's not another 25 years down the road - we can make it even better.
After all, practice makes perfect. *
Listen to Michael Smerconish weekdays 5-9 a.m. on the Big Talker, 1210/AM. Read him Sundays in the Inquirer. Contact him via the Web at www.mastalk.com.