The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PHILLY FANS NOW CAN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT MUCH
Philadelphia’s sports scene is suddenly bright.
OK, Philadelphia, this is getting crazy. This is striding toward epic. This is, for cities such as Washington that once enjoyed your company in the VIP section of misery, a little unnerving and causing spasms of jealousy.
First, the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, and it was with a team that can still be considered on the rise. Now, Villanova has won its second NCAA men’s basketball title in three seasons, and even after the NBA taxes the top of its roster, the Wildcats seem certain to be championship-caliber again next year. And the 76ers are set to return to the NBA playoffs with the league’s most intriguing young team. And the Flyers, who are so-so right now, are accumulating the young players and draft assets to create something special. And the Phillies, well, everything is odd right now with Gabe Kapler as the manager. But they’re also young and promising. And the best player in baseball, Mike Trout, is from nearby Milville, New Jersey, and he’s an avid Philadelphia sports fan who revels in the Eagles’ success, tweets about LeBron James joining the Sixers this summer and likely will consider a Phillies’ pitch when he becomes a free agent after the 2020 season.
It all adds up to a crazy new reality for the notoriously gruff old town: Sports have made the region effervescent. Philadelphia gets to dream big dreams right now because it has been reminded that some of them come true. Eventually, disappointment will return and the passion will convert back to anger and cynicism, but this has a chance to be an incredible winning cycle for all of the city’s teams. With some luck and longevity, it has the potential to be its greatest sports era.
That will require a lot more winning at the highest level, but the start of this run has been a dramatic shift from normalcy. Philly doesn’t just know sports pain; it often clings to the aches as if feeling them is vital to sustaining fandom. It has been an emotionally torturous relationship. Until the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, Philadelphia had a 25-year pro championship drought. The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1975. Before taking down New England in February, the Eagles hadn’t won an NFL title since 1960, seven years before the fancy Super Bowl concept came to fruition. It has been 35 years since the Fo’ Fo’ Fo’ Sixers ruled the NBA.
Before the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII triumph, the statdriven site FiveThirtyEight.com wrote, from 19842017, “No other city in pro sports has underachieved more on the championship front, based on the number of actual titles won and the number we’d expect from how many teams they had in each other.”
And now Philadelphia has won two of the three biggest American team sports titles (college football championship is the other) awarded so far in 2018.
Just before midnight, Villanova freshman Collin Gillespie sat in an Alamodome locker room, tilting the championship trophy with his left hand and aiming his cellphone camera with his right. He took 90 seconds to capture the perfect image. He signed onto Twitter and wrote, “I’m a National champ . . . no one can take that from me.” Then Gillespie, who was leading Archbishop Wood to a Philadelphia Catholic League title and a state crown a year ago, looked up and expressed what it meant as a local kid to contribute to the glory.
“I didn’t even imagine how good this would feel,” Gillespie said. “It’s beyond comprehension right now. As much as I love where I’m from, I grew up wanting to play for North Carolina. But coming here and representing home and playing for a team that represents where I’m from with class and so much love for each other, it’s the ultimate.”
Consider the added bonus of how the Eagles and Villanova Wildcats won their titles. The Eagles, without MVP favorite Carson Wentz, turned to Nick Foles at quarterback, and he transformed into a superstar, and concept of team was celebrated as Philadelphia romped to the title. And then the Wildcats win all six of their tournament games by double-digits and overwhelm the field with their unselfish style, sweet shooting and flawless culture. In the title game, sixth man Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench and scored 31 points to rival Foles’ supersub heroics.
You’ll take a championship any way you can get it, but for both teams to win and exemplify the best of sport enhances the good vibe. If the Eagles and Wildcats keep dominating, some will try to apply the tired villain label to them because being the best is supposedly so evil. But don’t forget both are rooted in sports virtue.
“I think it’s the guys that they find, the guys that we find,” Gillespie said, loosely comparing the Eagles and Wildcats. “You find talented, high-character guys that aren’t about themselves. That’s how you win like this. We don’t have any egos on this team. Everybody wants to win, so we don’t really care who gets the credit.”
Villanova coach Jay Wright, who is from Bucks County in Pennsylvania and realized a dream when Villanova hired him 17 years ago, was asked about his beloved Eagles trying to follow the Wildcats’ example and win multiple titles. The Eagles’ run could be more dramatic than Villanova’s. They will be favorites to repeat as champions next season, something the Wildcats haven’t done. With Wentz, coach Doug Pederson and top executive Howie Roseman, they’re the rare NFL team with an opportunity to open a huge window to collect championships. Such a mission is difficult, and having such expectations means setting yourself up for heartache. But they’re going for it. And while Villanova is the suburban school in the center of the affluent Main Line that often goes unnoticed until March, the Eagles are the sporting pride of the city.
“Yeah, I would like the Eagles to go back-to-back,” Wright said. “I think if we could start that in Philadelphia, that would be really cool. And I think the Eagles have a lot more pressure on them because I know we all, as fans, expect it. Actually, I feel for Doug and Howie because I know the pressure is on them. I feel a tiny bit, but not close to the Eagles. The Eagles are on another level.”
As Philadelphia awaits the most anticipated season in Eagles history, it will keep chanting “Trust the process!” for Joel Embiid and hope the Sixers can survive until he returns from surgery for a facial fracture. And the summer also could include the franchise getting to make a bid in free agency for James, perhaps the biggest sports star on the planet.
Philadelphia, of all cities, is making a run at Title Town status. I’d like to scream, “Enough!” I’d like to get all D.C. protective and consider this a really bad thing. But these teams are too likeable.
Believe it or not, mean ol’ Philly is charming the sports world.