Phillies fans are not conditioned to be optimistic. We are fans of a franchise that has not exactly covered itself in glory through most of its existence. Sure, there have been eras of success when things haven’t been quite so bleak, but those have been rare and fleeting.
Whatever feelings of positivity were brought on by the World Series championship of 2008 and the Four Aces 102-win season of 2011 have been thoroughly stomped out by the past nine years of failure. We now recognize that Phillies fandom is not rooting for a perennial contender and feeling happy.