Five Things I learned in Philadelphia

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5 things I learned during my time with Philadelphia

 

1. The food in this city is absolutely off the chain. I think I gained 30 lbs just from cheesesteaks alone when I first showed up. The team doctor wasn’t happy, but we eventually got it worked out. But this place has it all - incredible Italian food, great meats, killer pastries, and all the while having immaculate vibes no matter where you pop in for a bite. 

 

2.  No other city has fans like Philly. I think the locals would agree when I say that’s both a good and bad thing. When you’re playing well, these folks will literally die for you. They will pour their entire soul into getting loud for games, showing up to heckle the opponent, and giving all of our players an otherworldly level of support night in and night out. But if you start to stumble a bit? Man they can be brutal. I had a stretch where I didn’t score a goal for a few games and I woke up with “For Sale” signs in my front yard and raw fish stuffed in my mailbox. They make it clear that they’re always going to be all-in, 110% no matter what the situation is. 

 

3.  The team has fantastic pranksters. When I first showed up, we all went out to eat as a team to get to know each other. Since I was coming in midseason, I didn’t give it a second thought since I really needed to get to know the other guys. Until the entire team showed up, support staff included, and stuck me with the bill! My heart almost stopped when the waiter brought me the bill because it had a damn comma in it, but I wasn’t going to be the rookie to squelch on something like that. So I reluctantly gave him my card, took the receipt, and was worried all night that I wouldn’t be able to pay rent. I couldn’t sleep so I logged on to my Chase app at 4:30 AM that morning to see if I could borrow any money and to my astonishment, there were no pending charges. I ran to the den, pulled the receipt out of my pants pocket and took a closer look. “Rookie, you really should read receipts. This one’s on us.” I never slept better in my life before then. 

 

4.  Winters here are no joke. Being from Georgia, I barely had a winter coat, let alone something that would survive the cold seasons up here.  And I certainly had no clue on how to drive on icy roads and didn't have a decent pair of winter boots to save my life. Luckily, my teammates were willing to help when I first showed up and gave me a shopping list of things to go out and immediately buy. A lot of them downplayed the winter weather, but when I explained how anything under 40 degrees is "freezing", they knew they were dealing with a novice in the winter arena.

 

5. We had a wonderful locker room and it was a fantastic place to spend the last few months of the season, especially when it came time for the playoff run. Camaraderie was always high and it was somewhere that you knew you had the support of everybody on the team, even after a bad game.  I would definitely recommend Philly for any VHLM player because it's a great combination of fun, success, and overall attitude in the locker room that is simply second to none.