Philadelphia Madness

What did I spend a chunk of my weekend doing? Celebrating the thrill of victory and playoff baseball as my Phillies clinched the NL East Title in dramatic fashion.

And…

Watching the disgusting play of the Philadelphia Eagles in their loss to the Chicago Bears. As I type this post I’m still seething from the loss.

In my profile, I confess my love of sports. I’m a particularly big baseball and professional football fan. But what is not in my profile, and what is probably the most important fact I should share, is that I am a HUGE Philadelphia sports fan. For 85% of our readers who could care less about sports or the city of Philadelphia, you can stop reading now. For the rest…

As a native to the Philadelphia region, I’ve been a passionate Philly fan from birth. And, unfortunately, my teams have done a lot of losing in that time. At present, our city has gone over 25 years–and over 100 different professional sports seasons–without a championship. And some think our losing streak is more than just bad luck.

You see, in Philadelphia, on the top of city hall, there resides a statue of William Penn. Over a century ago, when this statute was placed atop city hall, there was a gentleman’s agreement that no building in the city could ever rise above the brim of William Penn’s hat.

And then, in 1984, the year after the last Philly championship (76ers-basketball), plans to build Philadelphia’s first skyscraper, One Liberty Place, commenced. This skyscraper now towers over William Penn. Prior to 1984, Philadelphia’s sports teams were very successful. Since 1984, the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, and Flyers have been 0 for 7 in Championship finals! It has been over 100 seasons without a championship, the longest drought of any city with 4 professional sports teams.

Longest. Drought. Ever.

So I’m trying not to get too excited about my Phillies. I know how it will all end. But like a good Philly fan, I just keep hoping that this will be the year when the curse ends. I hope and I watch and I teach my children to hope and watch and wait. It is a lesson in perserverence, suffering (we all hate losing!), and loyalty (it is shameful to abandon a Philly team for some out-of-town winner). So if my blog time is limited, you know where I am.

Maybe this year things will end differently. After all, there is a new tallest building in town, with a statue of William Penn buried atop.