Thanks for Four Years of Awesome
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Blogged Around Philly: Farewell Edition
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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.
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