If there isn’t a championship parade in the fall or winter, it won’t be because the Phillies and Eagles did not try for the confetti and flat beds.
For those who’ve suffered for many years with the frustrating ineptitude of these two franchises, the last several seasons have brought a refreshing and exciting era of competitiveness to both organizations and their respective fan bases.
We remain somewhat pleased, yet disappointed, with the Eagles, despite their consistency in effective leadership and better-than-average performance. Winning the big one remains as elusive as finding a clean spot on the beach to spread your blanket. The Eagles have come as close as that seagull poised to swipe your French fries, but have yet to bite into a Super Bowl feast.
The Phillies did break the seemingly eternal title drought in 2008 and then returned to the World Series the following season. After dropping out in the second round of the 2010 post-season, the club seems poised to make another serious run for a championship with another flurry of big-name acquisitions and one particularly stunning re-acquisition coming into this year.
Last week’s series of frenetic and somewhat stunning personnel transactions by both Philly teams has generated the most buzz we’ve seen in this area since they started the Wawa hoagie fest. Historically, the Philadelphia teams stumbled and bumbled their way to last-place finishes.
They’ve often been poorly run franchises followed by loyal yet apathetic fans that shall forever remain nationally tarnished by one unfortunate incident involving snowy conditions, frustration, a dollar store Santa Claus and alcoholic beverages.
These days the Phillies and Eagles are the talk of the national media. They seem to compete with each other for electronic and print coverage and conversation. If you’ve got the baseball game blaring over the radio you’ll be asked dozens of times by passers-by about the score and other pertinent game information. And these queries come from as many women as men and from as many teenagers as middle-aged or older folks.
When you’re winning like the Phillies are winning, everyone’s a follower. When you play in a ballpark that’s as much a social establishment as an athletic field, everyone loves to hang out.
Nothing seems to conquer social or ethnic barriers like the common interest in a successful or not-so-successful team. Those conversations may not generate the fervor of discussions about politics or religion, but they’re certainly a lot more fun. It seems as if the Phillies are the talk of the town at every Ferris wheel, lifeguard chair, frozen Coke stand and miniature golf course.
Citizens Bank Park prints more cash than the U.S. Mint and the Phillies have capitalized on their new-found resource development by luring superstars. These already wealthy athletes tend to accept fewer dollars in exchange for a chance to win the big one, play for a smart organization and perform in front of packed houses every night.
The current stadium sell-out streak may not run as long as Broadway’s “Cats” or “A Chorus Line” but the team and facility’s popularity are unprecedented.
Sort of like your favorite salad, a series of astute draft picks have combined with free agent signings and the acquisition of no name minor leaguers to form a perfect combination of prolonged success. The pitching is more top shelf than the liquor at The Borgata and the team chemistry is something Louis Pasteur would be proud of.
The top name in the baseball market as the trading deadline approached was Houston outfielder Hunter Pence. The Phillies found a way to make the deal happen. This is becoming scarier than the original Halloween movie. This organization goes out and gets the big fish more often than Bill Dance. After last week I’ll be getting a new cell phone because I wore out the exclamation point and the letters “OMG” don’t work anymore.
If they’d only let you play proper nouns, Nnamdi Asomugha’s name would be a great way to play some Scrabble letters you usually get stuck with. The former Raider cornerback was the biggest name in football’s expedited free agent frenzy and despite the presence of supersonic social media, the Eagles’ interest in the 30-year-old was tougher to detect than a U-boat in the Atlantic.
The news broke as I emerged from a post-beach shower and once again my aching thumbs pounded away at punctuation marks and phrases of surprise and joy. It was a better feeling than climbing down the stairs in footie pajamas on Christmas morning or securing a full size Hershey bar on the trick-or-treat trail. It was that great.
The Eagles continued their extreme makeover football edition by acquiring a productive defensive tackle from Green Bay and a familiar defensive end from Tennessee. These additions help less-than-optimistic fans overcome the fact that the team is rolling the dice on two freshmen for punting and kicking duties and appear thin at linebacker and safety with a rookie defensive coordinator to figure it all out.
Back on the bright side the Birds have once again picked through the recycling can and come up with an athletic, troubled quarterback who is slated to hold the clipboard for a year or two while improving his mechanics under the respected Eagle coaching staff. And haven’t we heard that before.
It was 86 years ago that American actor and comedian William Claude Dukenfield told Vanity Fair that as opposed to a grave, he’d “rather be living in Philadelphia.” Somewhere, you get the impression that W.C. Fields is smiling down on us.
Reach Joe Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net
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