As BritPop legends Blur taught us: “London loves, the mystery of a speeding car.” London also loves the thrill of a high exit velocity home run, like the one hit by Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper in the London Series game today.
Harper clubbed a massive homer, which broke the game open and eventually led to a Phillies win over the rival New York Mets.
Bryce Harper’s soccer celly goes hard ?pic.twitter.com/sZne1nUNqf
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) June 8, 2024
And check out the special celebration Harper performed after socking that dinger.
Yes, a double knee slide, a la your standard soccer/football/futbol goal scoring celebration. “Miced up” for the FOX broadcast of the baseball game, Bryce Harper then yelled “I love soccer” twice, obviously in homage to where they were playing.
The clash took place at the London Stadium, which is home to West Ham United FC, so you can be sure that the Hammers really appreciated the shout out.
People of the world, Bryce up your life. pic.twitter.com/A0WKYOv4wp
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 7, 2024
The Phillies official Twitter account went pretty crazy with graphics that fused the Phillies with icons of British pop culture. You can see the Bryce Harper edition above.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.