By Ryan Dugan
Philadelphia.
The home of democracy, the American Flag, Benjamin Franklin, Rocky Balboa, the Cheese Steak, and of course the Flyers, Sixers, Eagles, and Phillies. It is a tough city, a mean city and arguably the most frustrated sports city in all of America.
Tuesday night, October 21, 1980, I was just three months and 29 days old. Philadelphia Phillies closer Tug Mcgraw strikes out Kansas City Royals left fielder Willie Wilson, and 65,838 fans in Veterans Stadium go wild! Major League Baseball’s 76th annual World Series comes to an end, and the city of Philadelphia has a world title as the Phillies defeat the Royals 4 games to 1!
So what’s the big deal?
It was the last time the city of Philadelphia celebrated a champion!
I lived in the city of Philadelphia for almost all of 2003. It is one of the most blue-collar towns I have ever spent an extended amount of time in! It is cold and bitter in the winter when the wind blows in from the mighty Delaware River. It is messy and dirty with industrial ports, warehouses, and oil refineries down town. It is dangerous and deadly with gangs and crime elements up down. The city is diverse, cultured, historical, and as tough as nails. Its people are hard working, middle class, loud, opinionated; and in a constant love/hate relationship with its sports teams.
In the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, Philadelphia is one of the worst sports cities in all of North America.
The Phillies were the cities last Champions in 1980. Over the last three baseball seasons, the Phillies have finished each year within three games of winning the National League Wild Card. The last time the Phillies even made the post season, was 1993. Which by the way, was the last time the World Series ended with a walk off homerun. Wild Thing Mitch Williams of the Philadelphia Phillies gave up a solo shot to Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Philadelphia Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. Eagle fans have had their hearts broken over the last five seasons by coming so close to a title and then falling short. Hearts are not the only things that have been broken. Quarterback Donovan Mcnabb has been seriously injured in back to back seasons. First a sports hernia cost him the 2005-2006 campaign. Then this season a torn ACL in his right knee, ended his season and hopes for a Super Bowl championship. Backup QB Jeff Garcia has the Eagles playoff bound, but the Eagles will most certainly fall short of a Super Bowl title yet again without the services of their franchise star.
76ers fans had faith that Allen Iverson would eventually get them a Championship, and in 2001 he came very close. However just as I write this I have learned that A-I has been officially traded to Denver. Now the 76ers season has unofficially come to an end. They stand no chance of making the playoffs this season.
In 2004 the Flyers came within one game of going to the Stanley Cup, but they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Finals. Tampa Bay went on to win it’s first Cup. The Flyers are 8-21 so far this year with about 60% of the regular season remaining. They already have almost no chance of making the post season.
No other city has the awful, hard, miserable luck that Philadelphia has in sports.
Even cities like Boston, who’s Red Sox, went 86 years without a Champion, always had great Patriots teams in the NFL and Celtic teams in the NBA. And the Chicago Cubs who have not won a world series in 98 years, at least had Michael Jordan in the NBA, and Mike Ditka in the NFL.
In fact there are only two other cities I can find that have worse overall sports records.
The first city would be Seattle Washington, which has never had a Champion in any professional sport. I give them a slight pass for a few reasons. First they have no NHL team, but second and more importantly they have less history in professional sports, as the city itself has less overall history compared to the rest of the country.
The other city is Cleveland, which has not had a winner since the 1948 Indians defeated the Boston Braves. I give them a slight pass as well, because they too have no NHL team. But also because they WILL get an NBA title sooner rather then later with power forward Lebron James.
So why is the city of Philadelphia in such an awful sports slump?
It varies from sport to sport. However there is certainly a serious lack of commitment from ownership and or leadership in all four organizations.
The old radio voices of the New York Yankees (my boys) John Sterling and Michael Kay use to tell me “Don’t get use to winning every year. It is a rare thing in professional sports. So enjoy it for as long as it lasts.” Looking at a city like Philadelphia can make a fan appreciate winning and recognize how rare it is.
The good news for Philadelphia fans is that when one of their teams finally does win a Championship it will be all the more sweet.
Because victory, just like wine, is so much sweeter with time!
