As I watched Chicago's big and orderly Cubs parade Friday, I couldn't help but think of the 1980 Phillies and Mike Swilley.
Sure, the Cubs' justly ballyhooed triumph ended a title-less streak of 108 years. But it wasn't their first World Series victory. Through all their famously barren years, two world championship banners waved in Wrigley Field's ephemeral breezes.
By contrast, when the Phillies finally won it all in 1980, it was uncharted territory, the first time the team founded in 1883 had been the last one standing.
It probably feels different because the Phillies never possessed the Cubs' lovable-loser charm.