The dogs in Rittenhouse Square did shed their red bandanas. Their people left their red hats at home.

It was only the morning of October. 10, but it might as well have been November. 1. Red October was over.

The Phillies were eliminated from the postseason by the New York Mets on Wednesday, losing the series 3-1 to their division foe.

“We could have done it,” said a disappointed Ivana Gonzalez, a 33-year-old from Brewerytown, said Thursday morning outside her workplace at City Hall. “We can’t beat their bullpen?! What are we doing here?!”

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It wasn’t supposed to go this way. The Phillies broke a decade-long playoff drought in 2022 and magically advanced to the World Series as underdogs. They were choppy the next season, but exploded in Red October to destroy the rival Atlanta Braves. But then the bats went cold against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a return to the World Series remained out of reach.

This was supposed to be the year. The so-called “daycare” players are now grown men with postseason experience. Bryce “The Showman” Harper seemed ready for another season at the MVP level. A standing ovation from last summer would have restored Trea Turner. And the Phillies’ pitching came out of the gate with some of the best stuff in the league.

For much of the season, Philadelphians can be obnoxious in group chats, proclaiming to their out-of-town friends that the Fightin’ Phils have the best record in baseball.

And every time the Phillies stumbled in a regular season, when the bats went cold, a starting pitcher faltered, or the bullpen gave up a game — it was okay, the Phillies assured their fans, because just wait until October comes.

And then October came and went in the blink of an eye.

“The season starts again in October,” said Marty Goldis, a customer at Reading Terminal Market who lives in Fairmount. “When push came to shove, things went downhill.”

Brian Phillips, co-owner of Famous 4th Street Cookie Company, nodded as Goldis spoke.

“It’s a disappointing end to what looked like a magical season,” he said.

Both Phillips and Goldis said that while they were disappointed, they found last year’s elimination — at home, ahead in the National League Championship Series, just one win away from the World Series — even more painful.

As he drank coffee and read the newspaper, Kevin L. Brown, 57, of North Philadelphia, disagreed.

“(This year) hurts more because they only won one game,” Brown said. “I thought they were going to go to extremes.”

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There were almost no Phillies caps in Reading Terminal Market on Thursday morning. One man, wearing a blue and red Phillies hat, distanced the accessory from team fandom.

‘It’s just a hat. I’m not a fan anymore after last night,” he said as he walked away from a reporter.

Other fans just shrugged.

“I was excited at first, like every year,” said Calvin Williams, 69, of North Philadelphia. “Nothing surprising here.”

On Chestnut Street in Center City, Lee Yogel was one of the few people waving his Philly fandom Thursday morning with a red Phillies hat.

“It’s disappointing,” said the lifelong Cherry Hill fan. “The Mets blew them out, and I hate the Mets.”

Yogel, 63, has done that had quite a few disappointments from Philly Sports. But he is not willing to give up.

“We still have the Birds,” Yogel said. But after a pause he added, “hopefully.”