Yankees fans outnumber Phils supporters in near-campus bar for Game 2

Part two of a multi-part series.

Main Campus appeared empty Thursday night, likely because everyone was indoors watching Game 2 of the World Series.
However, on the west side of Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Pub Webb was bustling with activity. The year-old bar turned out to be a safe-haven for misfit Yankee fans stuck in the wrong city.
Fans wearing both Phillies red and Yankees blue looked evenly matched by the door, but after venturing inside further, dozens more Yankee supporters were discovered.
The large group of said Yankee fans congregated in the back of the bar, loudly cheering on their team — A major behavioral difference compared to the modest Yankee fans witnessed during Game One.
Erika Sutliff, a junior advertising major, didn’t wear any Yankees garb, but said she was proud of her favorite team nonetheless.
“I am not intimidated. I love Philly, but when it comes to the World Series, I’m going for the Yankees. I will be out for every single game,” she said.
Pub Webb is a lifesaver for Yankee fans like Aaron Sheppard, who want to take part in the festivities while avoiding the hometown heat.
Sheppard, a chef at South Street restaurant Supper, only moved to Philly in September, but has already felt they city’s renowned “hospitality.”
“Today I was shopping at The Gallery for a new Yankees hat and a man walked up to me and asked me if I really wanted the Yankees to win. When I said ‘yes’ he pretended to shoot me with a hand pistol like six times,” he said.
Many of the patrons showing Yankee pride are out-of-state Temple students happy to root for their home team.
“My driver’s license says New York and I can’t switch teams at least until my license says PA,” said Jimmy Jones, a native of Queens, New York who graduated from Temple last May.
“[The Yankees] have 26 World Series wins. The city of Philadelphia has history, and they have history, too,” he said.
At one point, the nearly outnumbered Phils fans banded together to chant, “[Expletive] the Yankees!”
But Jones didn’t let it phase him.
“I love it. Next week when we win they’ll all be at home feeling sick,” he said.
And many Phils fans may just have been under-the-weather tonight, as the Yankees took Game 2, 3-1, leaving the series tied 1-1 for the teams to come home to Philadelphia for their Halloween-night matchup.
Michelle Provencher can be reached at michelle.provencher@temple.edu.