Veterans Stadium Three Years Gone

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Driving down Broad Street in South Philly today, you almost forget about the giant eyesore where you spent so many wonderful Sundays.  Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field now host the games we give our hearts to.  All it takes is a glimpse of a picture, a snippet of video, or the smell of a toilet to spark the memories you have of the old ball park.  I attended the second to last Phillies game there and also attended the second to last Eagles game there.  I had tickets to the final Birds game at the Vet, but had to be in Boston for that whole college thing.  It turned out to be a decent game to skip.

My first memory of the Vet is, of course, not of a game itself, but rather a fight between an extremely overweight Giant fan and an Eagles fan of similar stature.  The Giants fan was so drunk while getting pummeled that his pants fell to his ankles.  That's comedy central for a young kid.  I recall vividly the playoff game where the Birds pounded my all time favorite football player, Barry Sanders and the Detroit Lions.  I recall fondly the days when Mr. Tolomeo would throw us in the back of his pick up and sneak us in to sit up in the 700 level for Phillies games.  Going over the I-95 bridge in the back of a truck was a truly frightening experience as a kid.

Here's to the Vet, and, of course, to the original 700 level.

Leave it up to the shitty Mayor of Philly to botch this one up.

The final seventh inning stretch after the jump.

and a glimpse of how it used to be:

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