Phillies’ Wild Card celebrations will break Red Sox fans’ hearts

The Philadelphia Phillies’ Wild Card series victory celebrations and the 2021 Boston Red Sox have three things in common.

Yes, three.

First, Dave Dombrowski is the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations.

Second, Kyle Schwarber signed a four-year deal with the Phillies last spring.

And third, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, the Phillies popped bottles and bopped the night away to none other than Calum Scott’s cover of Robyn’s iconic “Dancing On My Own.”

For already-downtrodden Sox fans, it’s the ultimate knife to the heart.

Phillies celebrate Wild Card victory with Red Sox 2021 postseason anthem, “Dancing On My Own”

Just last October, “Dancing On My Own” was the song of Boston’s own unexpected postseason run, which began with a triumphant Wild Card victory and went all the way to Game 6 of the ALCS. Experts had predicted that the Sox wouldn’t even finish the regular season with a winning record, and instead, they upset the Yankees and Rays and came close to toppling the Astros.

The cover of Robyn’s song had been catcher Kevin Plawecki’s walk-up music and then became the team’s victory anthem. They popped bottles to it after upsetting the Tampa Bay Rays to win the ALDS.

The song cocooned Boston throughout October. When the Bruins played a game during the Sox postseason, they showed highlights from that night’s game, accompanied by the song of the season. The Patriots did the same the following day at Gillette Stadium.

Less than a month ago, the song reappeared for a sadder reason. After the Sox DFA’ed Plawecki, his teammates blasted it in their clubhouse after winning their first game without him. A tribute to their friend, or message to the front office, perhaps?

Dombrowski was long gone by the time the song became fixture at Fenway, but Schwarber was integral to the Sox playing deep into October. His new team playing his old team’s song is one heck of a coincidence.

While it looks like Garrett Stubbs, the backup catcher acquired from the Houston Astros last offseason, was the clubhouse DJ, he’s got a connection to the 2021 Sox, too. While he didn’t play in the ALDS or ALCS, he was on the ‘Stros World Series roster immediately after they defeated the Sox, so he had to know about the song. Scott had even come to Fenway to throw out the first pitch during the ALCS.

Of course, this was one of several songs the Phillies blasted while celebrating advancing to the division series. But for Sox fans sitting at home waiting for next year, it’s a painful reminder of what – and who – they’re missing.

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