A Trip Down Memory Lane

With the Red Sox winning the World Series, all is well in the city of Boston. The Patriots look like the best team in NFL history, the Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce this season in the NBA and dominate the Eastern Conference, the Bruins are doing better than expected in the NHL, and even Boston College has had an incredible year so much so, that they have been ranked as high as second in the NCAA football rankings. Boston fans are having the time of their lives right now basking in the glory of winning. The complete domination by this city in the world of sports reminds us of the only other time a city has enjoyed this much success. That year was the year of 1980 in the city of Philadelphia.

The glory year of 1980 for Philadelphia has been the only time in history where all four major sports teams reached the championship game in their respective league in the same year. The Phillies won the World Series, the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, the 76ers were in the NBA Finals, and the Flyers were in the Stanley Cup Finals. In order to relive this past, I needed a little help from someone who remembered this year like it was yesterday, a native Philadelphian who is loyal to his hometown sports teams; this person is Philadelphia University’s own Professor Stephen Katz.

I sat down with Professor Katz as he explained to me what Philadelphia was like in 1980 and how the media kept up with the championship frenzy that year. Although Philadelphia is known as a football city, it was the Phillies who received the most attention that year. This was partially because it was their first championship in franchise history and partially because although all four sports teams made it to the championship games, the Phillies were the only ones who won it. The excitement was so high in Philadelphia that over one million people came to the Phillies parade to celebrate the championship on Broad Street.

The Eagles also received a lot of attention that year especially in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles faced off against the city’s most hated team, the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams finished the season 12-4 that year, and the Eagles were looking for revenge after losing the last game of the season to the Cowboys. The media attention was high and the atmosphere was tense. The Eagles did go onto defeat the Cowboys 20-7 but lost in the Super Bowl to the Oakland Raiders. Professor Katz pointed out that this was a very disappointing finish to the Eagles’ season because they had played the Raiders in the regular season and had defeated them.

Although the Flyers had been embraced by the city, they received the least amount of attention in the public. When Professor Katz ranked the Flyers’ season fourth among the four teams in terms of popularity, I was somewhat surprised. The Flyers had accomplished something that no other NHL team has ever done to this day; they won a record 35 straight games. Professor Katz pointed out that although this was amazing, the team accomplished the feat at the wrong time of the season. He went onto mention that their record breaking streak that took place early in the season, was not only overshadowed by the Eagles’ Super Bowl run at the time, but it ultimately cost the Flyers the championship. Professor Katz believes that the team was too tired by playoff time and that if the streak occurred later in the season, it would have helped the Flyers’ momentum during the playoffs and lead to a championship.

I asked Professor Katz that of all of the superstars in Philadelphia that year, who was the most beloved by the fans? The list of stars includes Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton of the Phillies, Ron Jaworski of the Eagles, Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins of the 76ers, and Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, and Ken Linseman of the Flyers. Although the choice was very difficult, Professor Katz stated that it was probably either Bobby Clarke or Julius Erving; he later settled on the fact that it was indeed Bobby Clarke: “Popular was Bobby Clarke, because he had that very scrappy aggressive style. He was dirty and he would hide it. The fans loved Bobby Clarke.” Confused, I asked him why Mike Schmidt, the best player on the champion Phillies, was not mentioned. Professor Katz explained that Schmidt did not have a good reputation with the fans because of his attitude and therefore was never too popular.

As I mentioned in my last article, Philadelphia’s professional teams have not brought a championship to the city since 1983. I asked Professor Katz why that was. He replied, “I like to blame it on management. I don’t think that we’ve had very good owners and intelligent coaches and managers here.” I asked him to further explain and he named a few of Philadelphia’s general managers who have not made great decisions. This included former Phillies GM Ed Wade, best known for trading away pitching ace Curt Schilling and giving a young Pat Burrell a contract extension with a full no-trade clause; current Phillies GM Pat Gillick, who signed underachieving pitcher Adam Eaton to a three-year, $24 million contract and signing pitcher Freddy Garcia to a one year deal of $10 million who sat out the season with a bad shoulder; and current 76ers GM Billy King, who has made so many bad decisions that it’s impossible to keep track. Professor Katz is also not happy with Eagles coach Andy Reid who is also the Eagles’ GM. He called Reid stubborn and a bad judge of talent. This could explain why the Eagles have underachieved over the past several years and why Donovan McNabb’s supporting cast has been fairly weak with the exception of former wide receivers Terrell Owens and Donte Stallworth.

Professor Katz claimed that the worst decision made by a Philadelphia GM during this time, was one made by former 76ers GM Jim Lynam. In the 1993 NBA Draft, the Sixers had the second overall pick with a chance to draft players such as Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, and Sam Cassell. Instead, Lynam elected to draft Brigham Young power forward, Shawn Bradley. Yes, the same Shawn Bradley who has a highlight reel on Youtube of all the times he has been dunked on.

1980 was indeed a glorious year in Philadelphia. Many stories have been told of the time of great legends who brought the city a sense of invisibility. Success was high, and the level of excitement, even higher. Since then, this feeling has diminished into the dark ages of sports in Philadelphia. However, the streak of bad luck has to end sometime soon, right? When I asked Professor Katz what he thought about Philadelphia’s chances of winning a championship in the near future, he simply replied, “not too good”. These three simple words are the same words that could sum up the past twenty-four years of professional sports in the city of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Nightmare to Begin... On Halloween Night

Before I get into the main topic of the article, let me take a moment to complain about the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies finished the season 13-4 and won the NL East title, but then got swept in the first round! They scored the most runs in the NL during the regular season, but they couldn’t average more than 2.7 runs against a Colorado Rockies pitching staff that stinks. They couldn’t even last long enough so that my article, explaining how awesome the Phillies could be, would be released in time of their postseason presence. A lesson then comes to mind, and that is that it’s okay to underestimate Philadelphia sports teams. I mean, they have been letting the city down since 1983, so what makes 2007 so special? Nothing. I have learned that lesson though, and I will apply it to the Philadelphia 76ers’ upcoming season. Unfortunately for Sixers fans, it’s not very difficult to figure out that the team will be awful this upcoming season.

The Philadelphia 76ers were in the media a lot last year as they traded away superstar Allen Iverson and bought out Chris Webber’s contract. They were one of the worst teams in the NBA and there didn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Sixers could have tanked the season to increase their chances of winning the lottery, but instead they did what most other teams would never do, play to win every remaining game even with the season in the toilet. The Sixers did just that and ended their season winning 17 of their last 26 games. If the NBA awarded the team with the best karma, the Sixers would no doubt receive the honor, unfortunately, that’s not how things work.

Despite how good they were finishing their season, it will not translate into wins this season. The Sixers were 26th in the league in points per game. It’s not that they can’t shoot, (they were 15th in the league in field goal percentage) it’s just that they don’t shoot enough (22nd in the league in field goals attempted). The team had several big holes to fill in their roster and for some reason they did little to fix this problem in the off season. It maybe because they were trying to get the taste of Iverson and Webber out of their mouths before spending more money on other players, or it could be because of the free agency frenzy that might occur at the end of the 2008 season (Elton Brand, Gilbert Arenas, Shawn Marion, Jermaine O’Neal, Baron Davis, Corey Maggette, and Ron Artest can all opt out of their contracts next year becoming free agents).

Whatever it is, it will ultimately mean that the team and the city suffer this season. They have SG Kyle Korver and PF Reggie Evans starting for them who are at best, backups. Korver is a great 6th man that can shoot but the problem is that the Sixers have him listed as a starter. Reggie Evans is a great rebounder, and he is exactly what the Sixers needed finishing 25th in the league in defensive rebounds. The problem is, he can’t score. The fact that the Sixers neglected to resign PF Joe Smith is very puzzling to me. He was a big factor in why the Sixers went on the 17-6 run at the end of last season averaging 10.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in that stretch. Center Samuel Dalembert isn’t something to brag about either. Not only is he an average player, but he is also hurt. He suffered a stress fracture in his foot during the off season, which will not keep him out of the game, but will definitely slow him down. Playing with this kind of injury may result in the problem getting worse as the season moves on.

The Sixers do have a silver lining on their team and he is SF Andre Iguodala. Iguodala is one of the most athletic players in the NBA meaning he can move around the court, play multiple positions, defend, and also score. He can very well make the All-Star team this year now that Iverson is out of the equation. The problem is that teams will recognize that Iguodala is the only one that can hurt them and all they have to do is double-team him, thus making him irrelevant. Andre Miller, a veteran point guard, will do everything to try and stop this from happening. A true point guard, Miller is an excellent piece to the team who can create plays and pass the ball very well which means everything to Iguodala’s productivity. Miller averaged 13.6 points per game and 7.3 assists per game with Philadelphia last season.

The Sixers are relying on their draft picks to have an impact on the game as well, which is a problem in itself. Their first selection, Thaddeus Young, is a lot like Andre Iguodala, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The fact that you have two young athletic small forwards who are almost exact replicas is a problem. The Atlanta Hawks tried to do this with their team and haven’t won more than 30 games in the past four seasons. The team also drafted PF Jason Smith which was a horrible decision as he will most likely be a bust. The fact that he’s a 7-foot tall shooter who’s too skinny and can’t rebound puts up many red flags. This is a kid that couldn’t help his team win in college playing for the Colorado State Rams (17-13 record, 6th place finish) in a weak Mountain West Conference. Does Sixers general manager Billy King, really think Smith can make a difference in a professional league? Not a very smart pick-up in my opinion, especially considering the fact that the Sixers traded away SG Daequan Cook, a great scorer, to get him.

Not only did Philadelphia not do enough to compete, but the rest of the Atlantic Division grew stronger as well; the Boston Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the New Jersey Nets resigned Vince Carter, the New York Knicks traded for Zach Randolph, and the Toronto Raptors were great already gaining one more year of experience.

76ers fans have a long season ahead of them because there is no way the Sixers are finishing better than last in the Atlantic Division barring opponent injuries. Statistics speak for themselves and the team did little to improve themselves based on the numbers. With little scoring capabilities, lack of 3-point shooting, and an insufficient presence at the post, this season will truly be a nightmare for Philadelphia basketball. It’s very appropriate that the season starts on Halloween night at Toronto, but at the end of a storm, the sun always shines… O.J. Mayo or Michael Beasley in 2008!!!

Sports Moment of the Week

Rob Bironas had the game of his life on Sunday against Houston when he went 8 for 8 on field goal attempts setting a new NFL record. He also set the record for most points by a kicker. His last field goal won the game for Tennessee with two seconds left as Tennessee blew a 25-point lead in the 4th quarter.

This is a tremendous achievement for a guy like Bironas as he has not been so successful in the past. Bironas transferred from Auburn (D-I) to Georgia Southern (D-IAA) during his college years. He was out of football in '01 and '02 working sales and marketing with his father. He kicked for the AFL team, the Carolina Cobras and worked at Best Buy before being cut from training camp with the Packers in '02, the Bucs in '03, and the Steelers in '04. He made the Titans team in '05 and was the team's leading scorer that year; but he continued to stay at an extended stay hotel the entire year because of the fear tht he might lose his job.