October 29, 2022
Daniyyel Macy/PhillyVoice
Connor Gill and a buddy cheer on the Phillies and Astros at Little Woodrow's in Houston.
Philadelphia sports fans have more in common than just geography. The name of the teams on the front of the jerseys they wear link them together, but it's more than just superficial.
Philly fans love moments. They love experiences, adventures and being in the room when history is made.
It's not uncommon to see hoards of Eagles fans at FedEx Field in Washington, or CitiField in Queens. And this weekend in Houston, there were Phillies fans everywhere. As the Astros and Phillies kicked off the World Series at Minute Maid Park, fans were collecting to root on their club at the unofficial Philadelphia sports bar of Houston, a place called Little Woodrow's.
And just like the fans do up north in their own stomping grounds, the Phillies fans who ascended on Houston brought plenty of smack talk with them to the land of Tex Mex, BBQ and Rodeo.
"I thought their teams were all Division I football teams," Delco transplant Connor Gill told PhillyVoice. "I suppose there are more than the Cowboys in Texas.
"Everybody knows what's going to happen. Houston is a little scared right now, a little quiet, we just gotta believe."
The Phillies pulled off a shocking 6-5 victory in 10 innings Friday in Game 1, overcoming a 5-0 deficit early to show they belong with the perennial American League champs.
"My fiancé is an Astros fan, born and raised here, we go to games all the time, but there is no way I won't be rooting for my Phillies in this f***ing World Series," Connor Michels colorfully said.
"It's an underdog story, just like the 2018 Eagles," Michels, who grew up 20 minutes south of Philadelphia, said. "It isn't about how well you finish in the regular season, it's about how hot your bats get in October and it's looking like a red October... I cheer for the Astros every single night unless they're playing against the Phils."
Brian Bricarell moved to Houston from the Philly area when he was 17, after going to see the Eagles play Washington in 1963 to start his career as a Philly sports fan. He was in the Astrodome when the Phillies beat the Astros in the 1980 NLCS, and he feels just as amped for the 2022 version.
"I love the heart," he said. "I was a little worried when they got [Bryce] Harper, but he is definitely all in on Philadelphia."
The biggest common denominator amongst the Phillies fans in Houston, some of whom are transplants and others just visiting for the weekend, is the pride they have for their teams and for the region they represent.
"We're going to bleed and ride for our city," Steve Chapman, a transplant to Houston said. "We are going to make that known, I don't care if I am the only Phillies fan in the bar, I am going to cheer and make it known."
It's been noted everywhere that the prices for tickets to this World Series are pretty insane, with tickets in Philadelphia for next week's trio of games fetching north of $1,300 for a single nosebleed ticket. But the fans in Texas said there was pretty much no price they wouldn't pay to be a part of this kind of history.
"We wanted to see them in a different experience," Havertown's Kevin O'Brien said. "I have seen them in Citizen's Bank Park many times. The Astros fans are awful quiet right now."
O'Brien said he paid around $1,000 combined for his flight and accommodation, and another $720 per ticket to get into Minute Maid park.
Steve Coajezzi didn't care what it cost either, as he spoke proudly wearing his Mike Mamula jersey he bought back in the 1990s.
"I love this team," he said. "It's a team of destiny. They have overachieved and they are 100 percent Philly. We love them. You see the turnout here, Philly fans travel we love our teams... The tickets were cheaper than they were in Philly, a couple hundred dollars less in Philly, but I would have paid more to travel. We love road trips and a lot of other Phillies fans do as well."
The Phillies have done a lot to make the region's die-hards very proud this October. And these fans seem to have little doubt they'll be marching down Broad Street come November.
Additional reporting for this article courtesy of Daniyyel Macy.
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
