July 12, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

10,000 is only a number
by CLARK GROOME

There has been, for more than a month now, a glee exhibited in the local and national media about the inevitability that the Philadelphia Phillies would soon lose 10,000 games in franchise history, something no other franchise has yet done. As of Sunday they’ve lost 9,999.

The Inky, the People Paper, the Philadelphia Weekly, WIP and CSN have all devoted space or time to what an accomplishment and embarrassment this is not only for the Phillies but for Philadelphia. The analysis of the 124-year-old club’s record has also been the object of stories, most with derisive tongue-in-cheek, in the New York Times, USA Today and Sports Illustrated and on ESPN, NBC and Canada’s TSN.

The articles all make the point that the Phillies phutility is rephlective of the phact that our town is the laughing stock of the sports world. I don’t think that’s true. That’s not to say that legitimate criticism isn’t deserved. It is. But why must all the criticism be so mean-spirited? What has Philadelphia ever done to deserve that?

None of our four major teams has won a championship since the 76ers copped the NBA crown in 1983, 24 loooooonnnnng years ago. The local sports pity party, frankly, makes me wonder just why so many get so much pleasure from so much moaning.

In last Friday’s Daily News, Ed Barkowitz developed a chart that showed when the Eagles, Flyers and Sixers would reach the 10k-loss plateau. For the Eagles it would be 3160, for the Flyers 2323 and for the 76ers 2215.

Like so much of the reporting lately this makes for good copy but hardly tells the real story. The Phils play 162 games a year, 10 times more than the Eagles and twice as many as Comcast’s winter twins, the Flyers and the Sixers.

So, just for fun, lets take a look at what each of those franchises would have lost if they had already played the 18,807 games the Phillies have as they enter this week’s All Star break.

The Flyers, with the local teams’ best winning percentage, .576, would have lost 7,975 games. For the Sixers (winning percentage of .515) the number would be 8939. The beloved Iggles, with its .478 winning percentage only marginally better than the Phils’ .468, would have lost 9817.

What I haven’t figured out is why Philadelphia fans seem to love to wallow in the pity party they (we) blame on our home teams. The reality is that right now (and all local sports franchises, with the exception of the Flyers. have actually been many different teams with many different owners) all four teams are looking good.

The Phils has an extraordinary line-up and would have decent pitching were it not for injuries. They’re still in the running for a playoff spot this fall.

The Sixers claim to have drafted well and should be a playoff team next season.

Donovan will be back behind center next season so the Eagles again look to be in the hunt for their division and conference titles and just maybe for another trip to the Super Bowl.

The Flyers had a tremendous off-season and look to make great strides next season. They should, the experts say, be at least a playoff team if not back in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s hallowed Cup.

Yet we still moan and grumble and glorify the negative. Don’t get me wrong, over the years the Phillies have been a remarkably bad team. So have the Chicago Cubs who haven’t won a World Series since 1908, 72 years further back than the Phils’ 1980 world championship.

So why are the Cubbies viewed as lovable and the Phils as phrightful?

How about this: Philadelphia is the city of our nation’s birth. It was here that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written. Ben Franklin called Philadelphia home. What would America be without Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell?

Philadelphia has also given us Marion Anderson, John Coltrane, Kevin Bacon, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Curtis and Franklin institutes, a dozen major colleges, five medical schools and three world-class law schools.

The city that gave us Connie Mack’s Athletics and their five World Series crowns and the 1980 Phillies also gave us several championships for the Eagles, the Flyers, the ‘76ers (and their predecessor, the Warriors) as well as the 1985 Villanova basketball team and the Big 5.

There are reasons to mourn as Philadelphia sports fans. The ’64 Phillies; two trips to the Super Bowl and no wins; some less-than-expected playoff results for the Flyers; and a seemingly endless series of not-too-effective changes for the ‘76ers.

That said, I would love to see the negativity and the self-pity that seems ingrained in Philadelphia staunched. We are a world-class city with world class arts, culture and businesses. Our teams may not always live up to our expectations, but simple as it sounds, only one team wins each year and it’s hard, very hard, to bring home the trophy or the Cup.

Should it be better? You bet. Have mistakes been made? Damn straight. But should Philadelphia continue to be so down on everything that happens here? I don’t think so.