3 reasons Phillies fans should panic after losing Game 1 to the Mets in the NLDS

3) The Phillies should panic because home field advantage no longer matters

Phillies fans are great. They pack the ballpark. They wear their passion on their sleeves and after a few too many, on their knuckles. It’s a rabid fan base in the City of Brotherly Love we can respect as long as they remain civil. The fans have created an atmosphere at the ballpark where visiting players aren’t welcomed.

Home field advantage does go beyond just the loudness of the raucous fans. Getting the last “ups” in games matters a ton, too. Because the Mets were able to steal Game 1, this no longer matters in this series.

Odds always favor the visiting team in a best of 5 being the home club when a series ends because they have a mathematical 66.7% chance at the start. The Mets always had the best chance to win the NLDS at home. The Phillies only ever could win at home if they took it to a Game 5. We’d like to avoid that.

Being able to beat the Phillies in this atmosphere matters a whole lot for a Mets team that seems to feed off of these situations. Although the kind Midwesterners of Milwaukee don’t have the same reputation as Phillies fans, Brewers fans weren’t passive about their team’s presence in the postseason.

Just as the Phillies did in 2022 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023, the Mets are on their way to playing a lot of road games. Home games won’t be in abundance as the sixth seed in the league under any circumstance leading up to a possible World Series.

Atmosphere hasn’t led to the demise of the 2024 Mets this week. An intangible surely thought to have benefited the Phillies, it might not matter at all.