The difference is that you didn't have a premeditated motive to find a winner and latch on to them. With you, that's just the way the circumstances went down. The Phillies just happened to be getting good when you became a fan. Not your fault, that's just the way it was.
It'll be the same for me if the Flyers win the cup this year. First of all, I'm only a marginal hockey fan. Secondly, I've only been a flyers fan since '95. So while you can bet your asss I'll be very excited if they win, it'll be NOTHING like if the Bills won the Superbowl or like the Braves winning the WS again. Like you, I just don't have the same time and emotion invested in the Flyers that a lot of the Philly fans do. But that's exactly why I became a fan of both the Flyers and Sixers...I maybe couldn't have given a flying fanooter about the NBA or NHL, but the FANS in Philly and the MEDIA in Philly just overwhelmed me to where I got sucked in to the scene, and next thing I know I'm attached. That city is just amazing in terms of the sports culture and the depth of the fandom. You just don't see that everywhere, you know?