By: Kylan Watson
It has been a long time, since the City of Philadelphia has celebrated a championship victory from one of its major sports franchises. The Philadelphia Phillies were the last Philly sports team to win a championship in 2008. The city and its fans have been starving for a championship for eight long years.
Since, the Phillies championship run a lot has changed; the Phillies have gone with younger talent and shipped all of the talent from that championship run out of town. The Phillies have also had the worst record in baseball for the last two years. The Phillies from 2008-2010 were the best team in Philadelphia; they were constantly in the playoffs during this time. They also had back to back World Series appearances. However, the Phillies would lose the 2009 World Series Championship to the New York Yankees, on a Ryan Howard strike out. The Phillies are a lot further away from a championship now, but they are collecting young talent, who will help turn them into a competitive team and a championship contender in a few years.
The Philadelphia Eagles have not won anything since 1960 when they won the NFL Championship. The Eagles also have not been in the Super Bowl since 2005. The Eagles had a great 12 year run of dominance, led by Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid from 1998 to 2010. During the Reid and McNabb era, the Eagles had eight playoff appearances, and one super bowl appearance in 2005. McNabb was traded by the Eagles in 2010, and Reid was ultimately fired the following year. Then the Eagles went with a new head coach in Chip Kelly, who got the Eagles to their last playoff appearance in 2013, but ultimately the team did not perform well for the past two years under Kelly. Kelly was fired last year, and the reigns of this team was handed over to former Eagles player, Doug Pederson. Pederson went on to draft his franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz has been doing pretty well this season, although he has hit a bit of a rookie wall during the last few games, as he has completed five touchdown passes, and turned the ball over 12 times during the last five games. His teammates, fans, and experts have a lot of faith in him. Wentz has shown that he can be a franchise quarterback he just needs the right pieces around him. Eagles fans should be patient, the Eagles are three players away from being a playoff contender. They need a number one wide receiver, an offensive lineman and a shutdown cornerback.
The Philadelphia 76ers have not won a championship in 33 years. The last time the Sixers won anything Julius “Dr. J” Erving played for the team. Gone are the days of Dr. J, Wilt Chamberlain, and Allen Iverson. The last time the Sixers were in the finals was 15 years ago. The Sixers have gone from one of the must see teams in Philly, to one of the worst teams in the city. The Sixers are improving though, they now have franchise player in rookie Joel Embiid, who has been sidelined with a foot and knee injury the past two seasons. He leads all rookies in points, rebounds and blocks. The 76ers are waiting for the return of 2016 number one overall pick, Ben Simmons. The 76ers have also put two of their star players on the floor at the same time, those two players being Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. Those two need to play more together. However, if that pairing works out along with the Simmons return, the Sixers can have a big three in the Eastern Conference, and ride these three young studs to become playoff contenders in the next two to three years.
The Philadelphia Flyers have been the most consistent team in Philadelphia, and in the last few years they have been the only major team to make the playoffs. The Flyers were in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010. The Flyers are led by team captain Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds has been the Flyers leading scorer in power play goals. The Flyers also have drafted a young stud in rookie Forward Shayne “Ghost” Gostisbehere, who fans call Ghost. The Flyers are currently 15-10-3 and if the playoffs started today, they would be a wild card contender. The Flyers also have been helped by the improve play of goalie Steve Mason, who has become a better player, and less of a liability. The Flyers are hoping to go further in the playoffs with this improved team. The Flyers are Philly’s best chance at seeing a parade down Broad Street again, because they are the most consistent of all the teams in Philadelphia.
The good times will return again to Philadelphia sports teams, fans just need to be patient, as all the teams in Philadelphia are young, and most are not built to win now, but in two to five years, opponents better look out for a sports resurgence in Philadelphia, and maybe a parade down Broad Street.
