The Fightin' Phils

     Ever since I could understand what being a fan of a sport could be, I was a Phillies fan. From watching the late night games when they are losing by 9 runs to when they almost won a world series. I was there watching them on the TV or in person from time to time. But during my research project about the Phillies fandom as a whole, I learned some much more about the team than I thought I ever would while doing this research project. Here are just a few more things that helped me expand my knowledge about the fandom but also the Phillies.  

    One thing that I found interesting during my research is how many different fans clubs that are endorsed and sponsored by Phillies sponsors. Now I knew there were a lot of different fan clubs that have no endorsement by the Phillies but again what took me by surprise is the number of sponsored fan clubs. According to the Phillies website they have a four fan clubs that are endorsed by sponsors. Now that is more than I thought there was going to be. But at the same point, that is a good thing because it will help people of all different ages become more involved in the club and more into the Phillies fandom.

    Another thing that I found interesting during my research was just simply some of the creativity of people to show they are a part of the fandom. From fan art to hype videos and other things. The videos and art that is made is out of this planet and I could only imagine doing half of what these people do. I

think the creativity of the people is what a fandom like the Phillies need because it can help diversify who is a part of the fandom. Diversity in something like a fandom is a great thing because if everyone was the same, it would make the fandom boring, and no one would want to be a part of the fandom. 

    Lastly, something that I found interesting while doing my research about the Phillies is some of the history. Something that stuck out to me was that the Phillies were once a bad influence on younger people. The Phillies team causing kids to have "grapefruit size hunks of tobacco" is not a great look on the Phillies end. But knowing that is a good thing because it can help the fandom stay clear of instances like that again and the fandom can grow as a whole. Knowing the history of the Phillies fandom can help make better decisions for the generations of the fandom to come. 

    All in all, there are so many different ways to be a part of the Phillies fandom. It can be through history, creativity or through fan clubs. No matter how you feel you want to be a part of the fandom, there is always a way you can be a part of the Phillies fandom. So, what's stopping you from becoming more of a Phillies fan?