Phillies fans make noise at the South Whitehall sports bar before the first game of the World Series | Lehigh Valley Regional News

S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Just before opening game 1 of the World Series in Houston, some Phillies fans had a pregame meal at PJ Whelihan’s in South Whitehall.

“My name happens to be Phil,” said Phillies fan Phil Weiss.

From die-hard fans like Weiss to those who just root for their hometown team like Alicia Brown:

“I grew up a little bit closer to Philly,” Brown said, “so it’s always cool to see Philly in any form, any Philly team going to a national championship like this.”

The bar and restaurant were buzzing with Phil’s first World Series since 2009 and first title since 2008.

“It’s an incredible run,” Weiss said. “I keep saying it’s so unexpected and I feel a lot better than when the Phillies were expected to win.”

Weiss says he’s happy Major League Baseball added a sixth seed to the playoffs this year.

“They really wouldn’t have been here last year,” he said. “They came in, they shouldn’t have beaten the Cardinals, they shouldn’t have beaten the Braves or the Padres, but they did, they proved everybody wrong, and that’s great.”

Weiss says he hopes the Phillies get the job done in as few games as possible.

“I want to play four games,” he said.

But Dylan Sapir says he hopes the team loses at least one because he has Game 5 tickets.

“Of course,” he said.

But among all the Phillies fans, there were also a surprising number of Astros fans and those who just wanted to root for Philadelphia.

“It’s really cool to see a team you like, but not the Phillies, in a World Series atmosphere in Philly,” said Ryan Suchon, an Astros fan from New Tripoli since the ’90s.

But everyone had high expectations for the night.

“Here to see the Astros win,” Suchon said.

“I think the Phillies’ bats are really hot,” Sapir said. “If they hit a couple of home runs like they did, I think they have a chance.”