![\"\"](\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_dkAYjn6gU2o\/TMdzOfRM2ZI\/AAAAAAAAI5E\/R8ZYFOkflvE\/s1600\/kristen-lee-cliff-lee-photos.jpg\" "\\"Cliff")
A family man at heart, Cliff Lee decided that $120 million in a city he loved was worth more than $154 million anywhere else<\/p><\/div>\n
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That’s right – a quiet family man from a small city in the heart of Arkansas, who likes to spend his free time hunting and fishing has chosen\u00a0our “inferior” Northeastern city, known for its harsh winters and harsher fans, over 29 other possible destinations, including two which offered him THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS MORE.\u00a0 He turned down the New York Yankees and their 27 championships to come play for the Philadelphia Phillies and our 10,000 losses.\u00a0 And, why did he do this?\u00a0 WHY DID HE DO THIS?!?\u00a0 Because of the team and its fans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
That’s right – because of the team and ITS FANS!<\/em>\u00a0 This one is for us, my friends, and that is why this<\/em> is so satisfying.\u00a0 We do not have a lot in Philadelphia.\u00a0 We are a city whose glory days as a central player in the fabric of America\u00a0were more than 200 years ago.\u00a0 We are a city stuck between “The Greatest City in the World” and “The Capital of the Free World.”\u00a0 We are a city\u00a0that endured\u00a0100 straight professional seasons without a title, where the most celebrated sports stories (prior to 2008) were a string of NFC Championship Game\u00a0upsets and some famous home run hit in Canada.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But, most of all, if you ask any sports fan in the country, “What do you think of when you think of Philadelphia?” they will unequivocally say, “The home of obnoxious fans.”\u00a0 Now, as I have said many times before on this site how undeserved this reputation is<\/a>, I still get it.\u00a0 It is a media creation, and that’s fine.\u00a0 But, this Cliff Lee decision speaks volumes more than any gratuitous Michael Wilbon jibe or condescendingly subtle\u00a0Joe Buck quip ever will.\u00a0 All the Wilbons, Bucks, and Colin Cowherds of the world combine to mean absolutely nothing<\/em> in the grand scheme of things.\u00a0 Cliff Lee, on the other hand, matters – a lot – and he chose US!\u00a0\u00a0And…for thirty million dollars less than Dallas and New York!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Why us?\u00a0 Well,\u00a0if you ask me, it is because he knows the truth.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, he lived the truth for three glorious months in 2009.\u00a0 And, the truth is\u00a0quite\u00a0simple, actually: \u00a0If you work your tail off to be the best player you can be, then there is no place in the world that will treat you better than Philadelphia – Period!\u00a0 We respect effort.\u00a0 We respect hustle.\u00a0 We respect gamers.\u00a0 And, that is exactly what Clifton Phifer\u00a0Lee is – a gamer, a worker, and a winner.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Play hard, work hard, and care...and Philly fans will love you with a passion unrivaled anywhere else<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The story of his wife getting spit on in New York\u00a0has gotten some press, but will soon\u00a0be forgotten and chalked up to “passion.”\u00a0 The lack of energy in Arlington Stadium probably won’t be mentioned because, well, no one cares, but the Rangers have struggled to fill their beautiful stadium recently.\u00a0\u00a0Let us not forget that professional athletes are, after all, human beings.\u00a0 Their occupation may be sports, but their life is spent in the city in which they are employed.\u00a0 They perform for a certain geographical segment of the American population on a nightly basis.\u00a0 And, they feel emotions just like you and me.\u00a0 No matter how “manly” they may seem, they, like all of us, crave love and acceptance.\u00a0\u00a0No matter how introverted some may appear, they have chosen a profession based around making people happy.\u00a0 They live to entertain, enthrall, and captivate.\u00a0 Everyone – no matter who you are – appreciates, deep down, recognition, admiration, even reverence, be it by a spouse, a child, a parent, a fly-by-night sophomoric weblog, or an entire\u00a0metropolitan area.\u00a0 In Philadelphia, we fans ask for a lot from our athletes.\u00a0 We ask for them to play hard, to play hurt, and to play as if winning matters as much to them as it does to us.\u00a0 But, in return, we unequivocally show\u00a0those that do an unbridled\u00a0passion, devotion, <\/em>and love\u00a0<\/em>that cannot be replicated anywhere else in this country.\u00a0\u00a0And, Cliff Lee knows it.\u00a0 In fact, he gave up thirty million dollars to feel\u00a0be a part of it\u00a0again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Don’t get me wrong, this is not a sure-thing.\u00a0 This is a lot of money and years for an aging pitcher.\u00a0 This fails to address at all the lack of a right-handed bat or a left-handed reliever.\u00a0\u00a0But today, at this moment, none of that matters because, regardless of all the rationalizations you will hear from Yankee fans and Yankee brass, this quiet pitcher from rural Arkansas was, without a doubt, the most coveted player on the market.\u00a0\u00a0And, just like Roy Halladay did last year…\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n …He chose Us<\/em>!\u00a0 Pat yourselves on the back, Philadelphia.\u00a0 We do it right in our city, and we are starting to reap the benefits.\u00a0 This one’s for us, my friends, this one’s for us!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Doogan and I have been running a Philadelphia sports blog for more than three years now.\u00a0 We have seen four division titles, two pennants, and a World Series title.\u00a0 We have seen an NFC Championship Game and the shocking emergence … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/media.pennlive.com\/patriotnewssports\/photo\/8935149-large.jpg\" "\\"Philly")