Should Professional Sports Teams Celebrate Making the Playoffs?

The Philadelphia Phillies, owners of the best record in baseball, reacted with a shrug when they clinched a playoff berth two weeks ago.

“That’s the beauty of being here,” Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We expect to win, and you get converted to that quickly.”

“We want the World Series,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was quoted as saying.

In other cities, making the playoffs is one of the pinnacle achievements in a franchise’s history. In some places — such as in St. Petersburg, Fla., or Baltimore on Wednesday night — qualifying for the postseason means a team has survived a brutal chase to the finish line.

Few fans will argue against a champagne shower for a World Series title or a Stanley Cup championship. Grab that Lombardi Trophy and let the bubbly flow. Feel free to spray the good stuff on the golden wastebasket that goes to the NBA champion.

A liquor-fueled party in mid-September just for earning a chance to play for the big crown can seem out of place, though. The Yankees look on such celebrations with disdain; on the flip side, so does Tom Brady.

It’s a long season, and players deserve a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But which fruits are worth celebrating, and which fruits should just be considered business as usual?

Should professional sports teams celebrate making the playoffs?