No More Phillies, So Now What?
The 2008 Phillies were a surprising and welcome departure from the Philly sports norm. Let's face it: We've gotten used to coming up short—whether way short or barely short. Not long after the Phillies paraded down Broad Street last Halloween, the Eagles returned the cosmos to their rightful balance. (Villanova's Final Four appearance was an unexpected bonus that threatened to upset the recently-restored natural order of things. Fortunately for the universe, North Carolina did not allow the end of days to come about.)
Whatever the haters say, Philadelphia is one of the top five sports towns in the country. (New Yorkers can bite me. In no particular order, it's us, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.) No one invests as much, personally and emotionally, in our athletes as we do. That said, we're not going to lose too much sleep over the Phillies' World Series loss. Not because we don't care—we do, we really do—but because living with defeat is old hat for us. And one of the things that makes us able to cry into our beers for one night, then go to sleep, wake up the next morning, and shrug it off is that we have a year-round cycle of teams on which we can pin our dreams of victory and fears of the inevitable next defeat. So while there's reason to be optimistic about the 2010 Phillies—more on that next week—it's time for Philadelphians to turn our attention, and our sports-lovin' hearts, elsewhere. So follow the jump and we'll tell you how you can best devote your energy, your love, and your tears for the next few months.
- Penn State football: Although State College is about three hours away, Philly is booming with Penn State alums (including, in the interest of bias disclosure, this Phillyist) and folks from PSU families. After stumbling—badly—against Iowa in their Big Ten opener, the Nittany Lions have been rolling, albeit against a weak schedule. But Penn State is peaking at the right time, and even though their shot at winning the Big Ten and going to the Rose Bowl is remote, winning out will virtually guarantee the Lions an at-large invitation to a BCS bowl game. And if the right dominoes fall, that could mean a dream rivalry Penn State-Pitt Fiesta Bowl. But first things first: Penn State has to win out, and their biggest hurdle to doing that comes this Saturday, when always-tough Ohio State travels to Happy Valley.
- Villanova basketball: Nova Nation may have been the most satisfied losers in history after the Wildcats got blown out by eventual-champion North Carolina in last year's Final Four. Nova's dramatic win over Pitt just to get to the Final Four, plus knowing that Jay Wright would start this season with one the top recruiting classes in the country and Scottie Reynolds and Reggie Redding returning, left Nova fans smiling, even though they didn't cut down the nets in Detroit. Now it's time to see if Wright's squad can live up to the high expectations coming off last season. The Wildcats will start their season—which officially begins next Friday—ranked in the Top 10. Unfortunately, Redding will be sitting out the first part of the season due to a marijuana possession-related suspension. But still, Nova is expected to be a top tier squad, and anything less than domination of the Big Five and winning the Big East is going to be a disappointment. But if there's something Philadelphians are used to, it's disappointment. Speaking of which...
- Eagles: Okay, what the hell is up with this team? They looked completely inept against the Saints, and their total bed-shitting against the Raiders and lackluster win over the hopeless Redskins didn't do anything to change that impression. Then they come out and take the Giants into a dark alley and inflict all sorts of torture on them. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are starting to look like an impossible 1-2 wide receiver combination for teams to defend, especially because opposing defenses have to account for Brent Celek. A Birds' win over the Cowboys this weekend puts them, somehow, in the driver's seat for the NFC East title. This team just has an aura that somehow, some way, it's going to get into the playoffs, win one game, and then completely self-destruct. It's what Eagles fans have come to know and expect, and yet we all strap in for the ride. Here we go again.
- Flyers: In case you haven't been paying attention for the last two years, and we know most of you haven't, the NHL is back—at least in terms of quality. (You can cat Flyers' games on CSN, but out-of-market games are stuck on Versus, which is kind of an audience killer. We miss ESPN's National Hockey Night.) Hockey games now are the most exciting they've been in about twenty years, and the league has all sorts of star power, and Philadelphia is one of the best hockey cities in the country. (Not coincidentally, the others are the aforementioned Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.) The Flyers made two big off-season signings, picking up hard-noser Chris Pronger and headcase goaltender—aren't they all?—Ray Emery. The Flyers are off to a slow-ish start and are in a very tough division—with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins and model-of-consistency Devils—but the Flyers' roster is so deep and so talented that you have to expect them to get on a hot streak at some point. The NHL season is long, and you really don't know how things are shaping up until January, but the league and the Flyers are definitely worth paying attention to.
- Sixers: Ummm, scratch that. Don't pay attention to the Sixers. Read a book, learn to knit, watch paint dry, or trim your nose hair. We're not even kidding.
Filed in Miscellaneous and tagged 76ers, basketball, chris pronger, college basketball, college football, desean jackson, football, hockey, jeremy maclin, penn state nittany lions, philadelphia eagles, philadelphia flyers, philadelphia phillies, ray emery, sixers, sports, villanova wildcats
Ross - you forgot Temple Football! Haha... no, really - we're bowl eligible for the first time since 1979!
Does Comcast and/or DirecTV even carry ESPN-U? I think that's the only channel where you can see an Owls football game.
I believe Comcast does. I don't think tonight's game is televised but it is broadcast on WHAT 1340 AM, All-MACcess carries live streaming video, and so does the Temple Athletics website. The game against Akron on Friday the 13th will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Hmmm, otherwise committed both tonight and next Friday (seriously, this isn't one of those "I have to wash my hair" things), but I was at the Mayor's Cup game, and I have to say, it was kind of painful (watching both teams).
But I think it's very cute that Temple has a football team. Call me when the Owls hoopsters are back up to par. ;-)
7 in a row, Ross. 7. Wins. By a team who didn't know the word "win" existed a few years ago. Nevermind we don't play with the big boys, give a little credit where it's due.
So, pray tell, what are the potential bowls that Temple might end up going to, so I can plan those three hours of my two week football Bowl Binge accordingly?
CBS Sports is calling for the GMAC. Don't worry, I won't let you forget about it if it happens. ;)
Does that mean you're hosting the party?
Maybe!
i think it's a really tough call to not even give new york a top five spot. especially over detroit. have you seen detroit football and baseball?
When I use the term "top sports towns," I'm thinking of places where the entire psyche of the city is tied to the success or failure of its sports franchise. For New Yorkers, the difference in winning or losing doesn't affect their ability to go about their lives. Win or lose, New Yorkers are going to think they're better than everyone else; there's very little morale movement in either direction following a win or loss.
detroit is a total economic shitshow, do you really think that it would matter to them if the pistons won another championship?
This year, I'm not sure. But last year, Detroit led the NBA in attendance, and I think the city always cares about the Red Wings. It's easy to take a cheap shot at them for the Lions, but Philly has been known to have pretty poor attendance for teams not doing well (except for the Eagles), and hell, Yankee Stadium had an embarrassing number of empty seats for Game 1 of the World Series.