My Introduction to Philly as a Sports Fan

My Introduction to Philly as a Sports Fan

When I first arrived in the noisy city of Philadelphia, there were a few things I learned quickly. Philadelphians love three things: pretzels, cheese steaks, and their sports teams. Being from Seattle, Washington sports were never something we were know for. Mountains? Sure. A giant tower that looks like a needle? Of course. But a baseball team with a winning record? Not this decade. And while I have huge amounts of love for my Mariners, Sounders, Seahawks, and Sonics (R.I.P) our fans are nowhere as adamant. We simply don’t have the history and pride of that history in sports. Have you ever tried to tell an Eagles fan that Donovan McNabb ‘wasn’t that good?’ It doesn’t end well.

When I moved to Philadelphia I barely knew who Dr. J was, never the less what the hell kind of anatomy made up a Phanatic. The first time I came to the city was when I was about eleven years old. I remember coming up 95 in the back of my aunt’s Sedan and looking out of the windows to see the huge stadium I’ve come to know as ‘the Linc.’ The outside was dawned with forest green Eagles posters, pictures of Brian Dawkins and Donovan McNabb. Across one parking lot you could see the classic orange of The Flyers, and the red, white and blue of the 76ers on the Wells Fargo Center. Across the other parking lot you could see Citizen Banks Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. I remember being over-whelmed by the size and stature of the stadiums.  That’s why I chose to glorify Philadelphia’s three stadiums, the Wells Fargo Center, Citizen Banks Park, and Lincoln Financial Field. 

All of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, that holds the three teams, offers fantastic statue work. There are about six sculptures portraying baseball, football, or basketball. Sculptor Joe Brown crafted many of them from 1974 to 1976.

  The Linc is arguably the most well known stadium of the three. The Linc opened on August 3^rd, 2003, and is home to the Philadelphia Eagles, the American football team, as well as Temple University’s football team. The Linc cost $512 million dollars to build, and holds up to 69,144 people. The stadium separated from the traditional bowl design of most stadiums. The architects at NBBJ Sport, the stadiums designers, put two thirds of the seats on the sidelines. There are also two-three tier grandstand seating areas. There are also two open air plazas that offer the chance to see the city skyline. While all of this is impressive, my favorite part about the stadium is its dedication to the Earth. The Eagles organization has put 14 wind turbines and 11,000 solar panels around the stadium, gaining enough power to fuel 10 home games per year. The Linc’s commitment to eco-friendly energy is one of the many reasons it’s an amazing building.

          
 The Wells Fargo Center is the home of the 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers, as well as the Arena Football League team the Philadelphia Soul, and the National Lacrosse League team the Philadelphia Wings. The Wells Fargo Center was opened in 1996, to replace the Spectrum.  The building cost $210 million to construct, and holds 21,000 people. The stadium was originally know as the Core States Center, and has had four names including its current one. The Wells Fargo Center doesn’t look like much normally, but at night is when it becomes impressive. The stadiums dramatic lighting illuminates the building, drawing attention to the name and posters of the teams.

The third and final stadium I’d like to talk about is Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies. CPB opened on April 3, 2004. The stadium was built to replace Veterans Stadium, which served as a baseball and football facility. The stadium was designed by Ewing’s Staley Cole, and cost $458 million dollars to build. The park includes an All Star Walk that pays tribute to Philly’s players elected to the Hall of Fame, as well as a Memory Lane and a Phillies Wall of Fame. The ballpark features rooftop bleachers, similar of those to Wrigley Fields, in Chicago. The field also has exposed bullpens in right field, allowing fans to get close to the pitchers.

             

Evelyn Taylor Price

Evelyn Taylor Price Memorial

    Philadelphia native Beatrice                              Fenton built the Evelyn Taylor   Price Memorial Sundial in 1947. The statue is made of bronze, and  measures 59 inches on top of a 36-inch granite base. It is located near the southwest corner of 18^th and Walnut, in Rittenhouse Square.

     The sundial was made to

 memorialize a woman who served as the president of

the Rittenhouse Square  

Improvement Association

from 1916- 1936 as well as

president for the Rittenhouse

Square Flower Association

from 1934 – 1946. Her friends

erected it once she passed away.

The piece depicts two nude, happy children raising a sundial in the face of a sunflower. The illustration of naked people, especially children, has been historically controversial. Even Michelangelo’s “David,” arguably the most famous statue ever, was met with distain. When it was first unveiled in Florence in 1504, the citizens greeted the piece with thrown stones. The sundial, however, did not experience any protest of major note. 

The piece has served the community as the welcoming face to Rittenhouse Square. It is a statue that is beloved by children and adults that frequent the park. It has also been used practically. In October of 1975 the city of Philadelphia had the park remodeled. This affected primarily the middle section of the Square, and included taking out trees, planting new ones, and laying brick. While the workers fixed the park, the statue held their coats and hats. (Picture to the left.)

The text reads: 

    'Ritten Hangups:'

The statues in Rittenhouse Square lent a hand to workmen installing a new brick walkway, part of a $269,00o facelifting for the historic public square, one of the first city parks in the country and designed by William Penn in 1681. The refurbishment included the removal of locust

 and catalpa trees, some of them dying, and

 the planting of 16 willow oaks in there place. 

The improvements affect only the middle portion 

   of the square.

Memorials and art like this can and have been used in films in multitudes of ways. These pieces can evoke memories, show location, and be used symbolically or metaphorically. A memorial could simply used to set location, like in the case of movies like National Treasure, which use shots of the Washington Memorial or the Lincoln Memorial repeatedly to show that the characters are Washington D.C. Other landmarks act as the same. For instance the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Space Needle in Seattle, or the Empire State Building in New York as function in a similar fashion.

           

Art can also be used symbolically in films. The Statue of Liberty is used in many movies as a national sign for freedom and liberty in the United States. It can also be considered patriotic. This rule doesn’t just apply to landmarks. Architecture like fountains can also represent ideas. Fountains often can be read as medicinal or life-giving, as well as a sense of rebirth.

             

I chose to talk about this piece because it seemed like a monument I could use in a film easily and effectively. For example, one could imagine this as a place where two people met when they were young children. The two grew up together, becoming close friends. Some years later one of them get in a car accident. If the person were to die, this spot would become sentimental, not only to the character, but now to the audience as well. The spot also becomes more than just a meeting place. Because of the children depicted in the statue, the spot now begins to symbolize youth, specifically the character’s youth. The sundial now symbolizes time, or perhaps time running out. The inscription in the face of the sunflower, which reads ‘The Hour Passes/ Friendship Abides’ also makes the statue now a personal testament to the two friends relationship.

Filmmaking has a way of transforming art to mean something else than intended, and that’s one of the most beautiful things about film. Memorials and public art used symbolically and/or metaphorically can help to strengthen and deepen a film.