It's Okay To Admit You Wish You Were A Philadelphia Sports Fan After This Past Weekend Of Pure Domination
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Listen. I get it. Philly has always been the fanbase that people love to hate.
Personally I've never understood it. Because I believe that Philadelphia represents the true heart and soul of America. You know the memes that go "Instagram vs Reality"? Philadelphia is the reality. We know exactly who we are and we never try to be something we're not. The way other people around the country talk about Philly, you'd think that we are villains. But I think Philadelphia is more of an anti-hero than a villain. The line between the two is always dangerously thin, so I get why some wouldn't be able to able to tell the difference. The same way that some people of Gotham would think Batman was a villain. But without Batman, Gotham would crumble. The same way America would crumble without Philadelphia and this fanbase.
Really what I think this all boils down to is the idea that other cities don't necessarily hate Philadelphia, they just hate the fact that they can't be more like us. There's an inner Philly fan inside of everyone just dying to come out, all you have to do is let it happen. And after this past weekend of Philly sports dominance, there's never been a better time.
Thursday 10/13 // Flyers vs Devils (season opener)
First up let's start with the Flyers, who got their season underway on Thursday night against the Devils. Now I'll admit that I had worse than zero expectations heading into this Flyers season. And the season is still ridiculously early. But the Flyers came out buzzing in the season opener and dummied the nuts off of the Devils 5-1.
Friday 10/14 // Phillies vs Braves (NLDS game 3)
The first playoff baseball game in Philadelphia in 11 years. You knew Citizens Bank Park was going to packed and that building was going to be jumping. But I don't think anything could have prepared anybody for how hard the Bank would be rocking after the 6-run 3rd.
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Did they need to add another 3 runs in the 7th? No. But Philly fans had been waiting over a decade for that moment, and the Fightins wanted to make sure they put on a show for the home crowd before putting a stranglehold on the series.
Saturday 10/15 // Phillies vs Braves (NLDS game 4) // Flyers vs Canucks
Then came their game Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks. The Flyers found themselves in a 2-0 hole after the 1st period. Perhaps that Devils game was just beginner's luck for the season, and this would be the true 2022-23 Flyers team….OR NOT!!
3 straight unanswered goals to close out the game from the Flyers. Carter Hart looking great in net. Travis Konecny is looking more like the weapon we thought he'd develop into. Hometown kid Tony DeAngelo getting on the board. Who knows how long this will last for the Flyers but that was a great first 2 games to get people into the Torts era.
Then we had the biggest moment of the weekend. The Phillies with a chance to close out the Braves and clinch the first playoff series at home since 2009. Philly fans haven't had a chance to celebrate a Phils win that big in 13 years. So Brandon Marsh, JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper and the gang wanted to make sure the people got what they deserved.
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What a moment. What a ball club. Hey Alexa, play "Dancing On My Own" on repeat for the rest of forever. And somebody get Kyle Schwarber some adult sodas.
Love these fuckers. And finally…
Sunday 10/16 // Eagles vs Cowboys
5-0 Birds hosting the 4-1 Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. This city was already on fire with the previous 4 games at the Sports Complex over the weekend. But then you add Cowboy week to the mix? Then you bring Meek out during pregame?
Embiid and a bunch of other Sixers in the building. You couldn't even sniff the inside of the Linc for under $250 and there still wasn't an empty seat in sight. Could the moment possibly be too much? Could there be just a little too much pressure on this Eagles team to remain undefeated heading into the bye week?
Not a fucking chance.
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Things may have gotten a little dicey there in the 3rd quarter but who gives a shit? The team delivered a patented dagger drive that they've been known for all season with that 13-play, 75 yard drive that ended with a DeVonta Smith touchdown to close out any hope of a Cowboy comeback.
Just like that, the perfect weekend was complete. 5 games at the Philly Sports Complex this weekend, 5 wins. Flyers go 2-0 to start the season. Phillies eliminate the Braves and are heading to the NLCS. Eagles remain undefeated and beat Dallas.
And I just want to make something clear real quick--I know there are still going to be the haters out there who say it's too early to be celebrating. I know that one weekend in the middle of October isn't going to guarantee a bunch of parades down Broad Street. I mean the Phillies and Eagles have a legitimate chance to do the damn thing. But I'm not saying they definitely will or definitely won't. All I'm saying is that this weekend in Philly sports kicked so much ass. So much ass. It was as good of a weekend as you could possibly ask for when there's no championship on the line. So obviously Philly fans are going to celebrate the shit out of this weekend. And it's okay for the rest of the country to admit they wish they could be celebrating like us right now as well.
Sidenote: I'm not forgetting about the 1st place Philadelphia Union and the fact that the Sixers season starts on Tuesday. That's all icing on the cake.