Anyone who knows me understands that I think Bill Simmons is an absolute genius who entertains me with his unique writing style. He usually doesn't speak to a lot of Philly topics since he is a Boston guy, but his statement today about the Philly Sports Scene really makes sense. In his latest post on ESPN.com, the Sports Guy says the following:
"Here's a prediction: Within the next 15 years, Philadelphia becomes the first city to ban professional sports for an entire calendar year to preserve everyone's collective safety. We're really getting to that danger point. Hooligans, rioting, you name it."
The Sports Guy really makes a point here. I really think things will get out of hand if the Birds have another losing season. We are so starved for a championship here and within the last two years it looked like the Eagles, Flyers, and possibly the Phils were getting close to making a championship run and breaking the 23 year drought. However, if the Birds don't make a run this season for the Super Bowl, things could get seriously U-G-L-Y in the Delaware Valley.
The Flyers flamed out horribly in the new NHL team with a team built to compete under the old rules. After teasing the fans through a torrid month of May, the Phils have fallen off the face of the earth with a typical underachieving season. As a result, Philly fans are overly relying on the Birds to reclaim some of their dignity. However, the question in my mind is whether we are placing our hopes into a team that did very little in the offseason to compete with their much improved interdivision rivals. I was up in Boston this month to watch the Phils-BoSox series and heard the E-A-G-L-E-S chants by the locals to take their minds off the ridiculously embarrassing Brett Myers fiasco.
We really need the Birds to come up huge and restore our faith in the local teams, but I really don't see the Birds getting it done this year. They just didn't do enough this offseason to compete with the rest of the NFC East. The seemingly impressive draft was nice, but how does it help them make the leap this year?
When the Birds fall flat this year, pro sports in this town will hit an all time low. None of the 4 teams seem to be anywhere close to winning a title. We might not need to suspend pro sports for a year like the Sports Guy suggests, but it might be wise for the local fans to lose their religion for a season or so and take up other interests.
Who the hell am I kidding? We live in Philly. What else do we have in our lives that even compares to supporting the local teams? Of course, we'll be back supporting our teams with the same passion as we always have. However, it might be smart to check our expectations at the door.
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