For the sake of this city, Phillies, please win. That's right, I am appealing to the Philadelphia Phillies to win the world series. The fans here depend so much on their sport teams for their self-esteem that a loss in this world series would have dramatic effects on hundreds of thousands of people. This wouldn't be the case in many other cities, where individuals have other ways to evaluate their self-worth, but not in Philadelphia. For instance, as a Washingtonian, I love the Skins, Wizards, and Caps, but even if one of them loses in a championship game or series, after a day of sadness and depression, I'd get over it and move on. That's because my life is full and I have many ways to earn self-worth. Some people here, and I really don't mean everyone, have so little positive in their lives that their whole self-worth depends on how their sport teams perform. This is problematic as psychologically locating control of one's self-worth outside the self means that one forfeits control of one's life. Let me break the news to such people, you have no control over how well Hammels pitches or Utley hits. However, you do have control over how well you complete a task of your own. Thus, locating self-worth in an external factor means that one has no control over the self's own success or failure. That's a recipe for disaster; it's like believing that breaking a mirror will lead to 7 years of bad luck. However, there's no time to change this before game five terminates tonight. So, Phillies please win tonight for the sake of your fans. Later, I hope these fans take back control of their own self-worth; that's what therapy is for. Get a psychotherapist!

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