28: Number of years before they won their second title.
10,162: Number of losses.
Yes, I have been fortunate enough to have witnessed BOTH of my team's only two World Series titles in 127 years. But in-between 1980 and 2008, there was the losing.
Lots of losing. Oh yeah, I remember Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose and Steve Carlton. But I also remember Rick Schu and Scott Servais and Andy Ashby. I've seen a franchise let the talents of Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen waste away, only to be traded for Omar Daal, Travis Lee, and a sack of magic beans. Oh sure, there was that one brief magical summer of '93; where for one moment anyway, my team was America's Team. A bunch of misfits and throwbacks fighting battle against those invading Canadians.
But they are what they are, the losingest team in the history of major professional sports. And dammit, they're my team.
You have no idea what loss is unless you're from around here. You have no idea to pine for something, something as important to say, if only for one year, that your city and your team is the best.
I come from a unique place. At one time we were the second most important city in the English-speaking world -- the largest in the Western Hemisphere. We were the political, cultural, and financial capital of the New World. We gave you both the Declaration of Independence AND the Constitution.
Ben Franklin lived here.
The political capital moved south to a rancid cesspool of a city that I can not wait to escape from. Chestnut Street was replaced by Wall Street. We now look to a plastic city in the middle of a desert for our culture. All along the Boston-New York-Washington Power Axis, we've been forgotten. (How many sitcoms have been set in Philadelphia? How many in New York?)
So on a night when my team re-acquired the Ace we should have never let go in the first place, and has assembled greatest starting rotation in decades, I think we've earned the right to stick out our chests and gloat a little bit. And if you don't like it, you can all shove it straight up your $2500-a-box-seat asses.
Oh, and Welcome Back Cliff!
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8 comments:
I'd like to congratulate the Phillies on such an excellent pick up. I will be so happy to not have him in my division or league. Perhaps my "invading Canadians" and the rest of the AL East got the best part of this, aside from the Phillies.
Chris, are you serious? Your city is built upon blowhards and whining. Your hockey team is fashioned after being "Bullies". Your baseball team has one of the highest payrolls in baseball, and still in one of the major media markets, so it's not like you are the Astros competing with the big boys, even though Houston is a "major" market.
The most fond memory of the Eagles could be argued of fans throwing batteries at injured opposing players and pelting Santa with snow balls. You booed Donovan McNabb when you drafted him and cheered him when he returned with another team. You have been to four World Series' in the past 30 years.
You have Sal Palantonio!
If you want long suffering baseball, go to Chicago and ask anyone on the north side what it's like to be named a "Loveable Loser" and have not BEEN to a World Series since 1945, have not WON a World Series since 1908. The White Sox have won ONCE in over 90 years. That is where you start when it comes to losing in baseball.
Spare me your East Coast hypocracy of no respect. You bought three of the biggest free agent pitchers in the game.
Mike, are you serious???!! How many titles has Chicago won in basketball? 6? Who won the Stanely Cup last year? Blackhawks? How many Super Bowls has Chicago won vs. Philadelphia? 1-0? And you're complaining about not winning? That's the problem with you Chicago fans, just like Obama - keep complaining, keep bitching.
With no Series title since '54, no Super Bowl appearances (last NFL title - 1964), no NBA titles, no NHL team, The Drive, The Fumble, The Move, and The Decision, not to mention re-living the Rentaria hit from '97 during this year's Series, I have no sympathy for Chicago or Philadelphia. Your teams can afford to sign number-one starters (or have a whole starting rotation of them) rather than flipping them for more prospects. If the Cubs or Phils has an off year, you've still got something to look forward to. In Cleveland, its just more losing. Congrats, by the way, to the Phils for signing Lee. At least he's not going to the Yankees.
Jason has a better beef, I will concede to that. Cleveland is the town with nothing to hang their Browns hats on. And to add insult, LeBron came to town and torched the Cavs. And the baseball team had how many bona fide superstars at Jacobs Field in the past 20 years? I'll give Cleveland that.
I should have separated my argument into just baseball - the Hawks won their first title in 40+ and if there is anything, the Bulls had the MJ years. Touché.
I too am a long suffering Phillies phan and I haven't even lived there in 16 years. Up until this Phillies team, the best team of my generation was the team that won the 1980 World Series. This current Phillies team is much better and should be good for a long time.
Haven't won anything yet sweet cheeks... Just wait for King Felix to end up in New York by July....
Oh ya, and that no hitter in the LDS means NOTHING when you don't win it all.... I love in Philly and can't wait to see you ass clowns burn the city down when you don't win it all... Oh, and no matter what Philadelphia STILL has the ugliest women in America.
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