Philadelphia Mending the Wounds Left by the Eagles Just in Time for Christmas

Jul 25, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Phillie Phanatic gives Santa Claus a ride on his bike during Christmas in July at the ball park during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia was not a fun place to be the night the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs. When Washington kicker Kai Forbath kicked a game-winning field goal with seconds remaining on the clock, the reality started to set in that the Eagles had completed arguably the worst meltdown in Philadelphia sports in the 21st century. For all of the highs that accompanied the team’s Thanksgiving win over the Cowboys, the lows of Saturday’s defeat and the realization that the team’s season would end this Sunday in the Meadowlands made the team’s last victory seem like a distant memory.

Looking back, 2014 was a dud of a year for the four major sports teams in the city. Hell, even the Union were a disappointment for those who follow the city’s MLS team. The Eagles lost a home playoff game, the Flyers lost a seven-game playoff series to the New York Rangers of all teams, the Sixers did not draft Andrew Wiggins, and the Phillies completed their staggering fall from grace with another depressing losing season. It seems only fitting that the Eagles, who provided us our lone bright spot for the majority of the NFL season, pulled the rug out from under us just in time for the holidays. As one who lives in the city, Philadelphia was a dreary scene in the days following the stunning end to the Birds’ run in 2014.

In addition to the performances on the field, Philadelphia once again had to deal with substantial negativity off of it. National outlets continue their misinformed bashing of the city while other metropolitans make off scott-free for the types of indiscretion that our fans seem unable to shake. The holier-than-now contingency of talking heads, both in the city and out of it, condemn the strategic approach of the 76ers as one that apparently threatens to shake the foundation of professional sports in Philadelphia. Deadspin.com actually ran an article titled, “The Philadelphia 76ers are a Godless Abomination”. I must have missed the part in journalism school where the scribe’s agenda was allowed to be expressed in such crass terms. Never one to beat a dead horse (sarcasm), our friends at Deadspin decided to pile it on within the last week with some more Pulitzer-bait.

"“Something confounding is happening in Philadelphia. The meanest, vilest, prosthetic-leg-stealingest fanbase in American sports has gone soft for its garbage basketball team, apparently because management promised them a present if they’ll all just behave and eat their garbage basketball each night for the next few years, and anyway all the fans ever really wanted was a little honesty in the first place. They’ll tell this to anyone who bothers to notice an especially rotten player or development. They know this team is garbage, thank you, and they like it like this. What a bunch of dipshits.”"

How nice of Kyle Wagner to provide such a well-researched census of a city he has such a connection to. By the way, Kyle, that’s Mr. Dipshit to you.

Meanwhile, we watched early exits in the NCAA Tournament by a great Villanova team and a white-hot St. Joseph’s squad to eventual champion Connecticut. The Phillies traded away Jimmy Rollins, the proverbial captain of the city, signifying the end to the most prosperous era of baseball I’ve been able to witness. Our favorite new arrival in the city is a 7’0″ teenager whose social media antics have almost masked the fact that Joel Embiid most likely will not suit up for the 76ers this season. Yet, we all felt the devastation when it surfaced that Embiid’s brother, who he was set to visit in the coming months, passed away in his native Cameroon. Simply put, it’s been a sad year in Philadelphia and the Eagles losing to a bad Redskins team to assure themselves of an early vacation was a fitting bow on top.

Admittedly, I have had little faith that the 76ers or Flyers could accomplish anything substantial this season. Nobody expects the Sixers to even flirt with the postseason this year, so losing games isn’t much to get upset about with them. That said, the Flyers are consistently considered a postseason contender. Mismanagement of a roster and salary cap has turned them into a meddling bunch who has to patiently wait for a combination of cap relief and a bounty of prospects to develop before they can return to Stanley Cup contention. They have two of the most talented players in the world with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek, but hockey is such that depth outweighs individual talent in the long run 10 times out of 10. It doesn’t take analysis or years of experience to notice the difference between a title contender in the NHL and a team that comes up short. The Flyers fit squarely into the latter category.

The gut-check that was the end of the Eagles, our lone beacon of hope for 2014, and their run to the postseason was felt throughout the city. For such a likable team to fall in such fashion and for Chip Kelly, arguably the king of Philadelphia sports right now, to come off as bristly and defensive as he did the day after twisted the knife even further. Expectations should remain high for the Eagles moving forward, but this was a catastrophic end to an otherwise promising season. Seeing as the other three major teams don’t appear in the same stratosphere as far as title contention goes, the Eagles going down the way they did was a fitting end to a forgettable year.

Something has transpired since the final seconds ticked off the clock in Landover, Maryland representing the end to the city’s latest failed hope at a parade. A relative anomaly to the trend of the year has helped soften the blow of the devastation of the Eagles failure. Even on the same day of the defeat, it’s almost as if the rest of the city has taken upon the load of hope that the Birds’ kept propped up for so long. Where there is only disappointment at the Novacare Complex as the Eagles prepare for a meaningless game with the Giants; there is, for the first time in months, reason to celebrate the rest of the city’s sports teams.

Even as Saturday’s game was still going on, it’s almost as if a memo was sent around to the rest of the athletes in Philadelphia that it was on them to pick up the slack. Hours removed from the final gun of the Eagles loss, the Flyers completed a 7-4 beatdown of the Toronto Maple Leafs (a team who had won 6 of 7 heading into the contest). Giroux and Voracek each had four-point evenings as they surged to the top of the NHL’s scoring leaderboard. With their starting goalie Steve Mason out with injury, the Orange-and-Black put forth an offensive display that would make up for Ray Emery being, well, about what we expect out of Ray Emery.

As Sunday arrived, and Philadelphians were forced to watch NFL teams duke it out for the highest of stakes, there would be more reason to rejoice. With just nine active players, the 76ers tipped off a road game against the Orlando Magic early Sunday evening. An Orlando team with a relatively similar makeup to their own who had deprived them of their first win in heartbreaking fashion earlier in the season looked poised to hand the Sixers their sixth straight loss. All of a sudden, Brett Brown’s scrappy, hyperactive bunch flipped a switch. Fueled by a passionate sideline argument between Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel, the Sixers started to surge by a reeling Magic team. Five Sixers scored in double-figures and K.J. McDaniels, with his mother in attendance, continued to provide highlight reel plays seemingly on demand. As they started to pull away from the fading Magic, one could hear the astonishment in play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff’s voice. One could hardly blame him for being somewhat surprised to see this 76ers team actually putting away a team rather than an opponent simply lay down. Sure enough, the 76ers would leave Orlando with a 96-88 win, their third of the season, and perhaps their most impressive showing to date.

There was no time to bask in the 76ers win, as the Flyers continued their tour of Canada that same evening against a very good Winnipeg Jets team. Aside from trying to build off the win over Toronto, there was an extra incentive in place for the Flyers in this game. Rob Zepp, a 33-year-old goalie called up from the Phantoms in the wake of Mason’s injury, would be making his NHL debut. Anyone who follows sports or who has played at any level in their life can relate to Zepp. An insatiable dream to step onto the ice as a starting goalie in the NHL fueled the journeyman Zepp for over a decade as he waited patiently for his opportunity. Aided by circumstance, Zepp would get that chance Sunday night in a game that must have seemed like a dream for him. Trailing 3-1 in the latter stages of the 2nd period, Winnipeg sprung free on an odd-man rush with a chance to send the Flyers into the locker room trailing by a seemingly insurmountable three-goal margin. Zepp made his save of the game to preserve the margin and send the team into the 3rd period on a high note.

From there, the offense took over. Vincent LeCavalier, who had recently returned from a string of healthy scratch games, scored a pair of third-period tallies, the second of which came with just over three minutes left in regulation. The Flyers would secure Zepp at least a point in his NHL debut, but had their sights set on bigger things. Seconds into sudden-death overtime, Claude Giroux separated Dustin Byfuglien from the puck behind the Winnipeg net. Byfuglien, much like he did for Chicago in the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, had dictated the physical play of the game from the drop of the puck and added a goal to boot. Giroux had been the victim of multiple Byfuglien checks and clearly had revenge on his mind. Jake Voracek pounced on the loose puck and slid it past Ondrej Pavelec for the game-winner just 10 seconds into overtime. Zepp, 33, made 25 saves and became the oldest goalie to win his NHL debut since 1926.

For all of us who dreamed of becoming a professional athlete but came up short for any number of reasons, Zepp’s story of perseverance truly hits home and to see a grown man beaming the way he did after vindicating over a decade of pursuit is what sports is all about.

Monday, it was time for the college kids to make their mark on the city. Temple would host 10th ranked national power Kansas at the Wells Fargo Center on primetime television. The Jayhawks, annually sporting at least one lottery pick, had fallen just once on the season to National Title favorite Kentucky. Fran Dunphy’s squad had already stumbled out of the gate, losing four games and running out of chances for a marquee win.  The Jayhawks were no match for the Owls on this night. Spearheaded by a dominating showing by their backcourt (54 points between Will Cummings, Quenton DeCosey, and Jessie Morgan), Temple throttled 10th ranked Kansas from the opening tip. As the final seconds ticked off the Wells Fargo Center jumbotron with the score reading 77-52, thousands of cherry-clad students streamed onto a court that has yet to see its professional team claim victory on it.

Coach Dunphy put it best after the game saying

,

“I think we played about as well as we possibly could have, it was our night.”

Tuesday, the final day of significant sports action before teams broke for the holidays, was a full slate for Philadelphians. 7th ranked Villanova was in action against an upstart NJIT squad already with a marquee upset to their name. The Flyers were in Minnesota, aka Hockeytown USA, to face a Wild team who had spoiled the induction of Eric Lindros and John LeClair to the team’s Hall of Fame by stunning them on the Wells Fargo ice weeks before. Finally, the 76ers were in South Beach to try to complete a sweep of the Sunshine State against Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.  After a scintillating shooting display by NJIT in the first half gave the Highlanders a three-point halftime lead over Jay Wright’s squad, Villanova gave everyone a reminder of just how good they are. The Wildcats throttled their opponents over the remaining 20 minutes. They’d outscore NJIT 51-23 in the 2nd half as they turned a potential pre-Christmas trap into a convincing 92-67 win. The Wildcats are off until New Years Eve when they host Big East foe Butler in the start of conference play.  The Flyers picked up against the Wild right where they left off against the Canadian teams. Five different players scored goals, including Lecavalier who scored more goals in two games (3), than he had the rest of the season (2), as they rolled past Minnesota by a 5-2 final. From a percentage standpoint, at least, the Flyers enter their Christmas respite sitting at .500 (14-14-6) and sit a reasonable six points out of the guaranteed playoff spot that comes with finishing in the top three of their division. It would be the Sixers, the team who has faced such unfounded criticism, that would provide the ultimate boost in the final contest before Christmas day. With Tony Wroten sidelined, Brett Brown was forced to dress just eight players against a Heat team that, were the season to end today, would be in the playoffs. The Sixers looked all the undermanned squad they were for the better part of the game, trailing by as many as 23 points in the second half. Rather than folding and heading into the break on the heels of a demoralizing defeat, they flipped the script and did so with defense. They would outscore Miami 45-18 after trailing by their largest second half margin and suffocate the Heat in a manner that makes one think perhaps this Sixers team is worth watching more than we gave them credit for. Tenacious ball denial, active hands, and a team commitment to blocking shots (11 over the course of the game) quickly shifted momentum toward the young 76ers. Once again, K.J. McDaniels provided the fireworks with a couple of awe-inspiring dunks over the gassed Heat players.

They would hold the Heat to just nine (nine!) 4th quarter points and, as Robert Covington calmly sealed the team’s most impressive win of the season at the free throw line, the efforts of the city’s supplementary sports teams completed their rehabilitation of the city from the hangover of the Eagles’ meltdown.

The Eagles’ December swoon of 2014 will go down as one of the worst collapses in city sports history, there’s no doubt about it. Having their season ending is never easy, and having it happen in such humiliating fashion makes it that much worse. It’s perfectlyokayto be critical of them and conjure up the hypotheticals of what could have prevented such a cataclysmic meltdown. With all of that said, winning is the greatest, and perhaps only medicine for such defeat. An Eagles win over the Giants this Sunday would do nothing but frustrate fans and perplex them as to why such an effort was not present in the meaningful weeks leading up to it. I cannot speak for the entire city in assuming everyone follows the big picture of the Philadelphiasportsscene the way I do. For all I know, there are still a handful of people who only follow the Eagles and live and die with their success and failure. For those of us who do not fall intothatcategory, the past few days have been just what the doctor ordered. I was able to jump up and cheer for the first time in a month and, for once, it was not because of the Eagles. When things aren’t going well for all four teams, sometimes it’s hard to have pride in being a Philadelphia sports fan and not just an Eagles fan. This year especially has tested the fortitude of ‘Four-for-Fours’ young and old. For all I know, the past week’s success of the ‘other’ teams in the city is just a mirage. After Christmas, the Crystal Carriage could turn back into a pumpkin and we all could be dealing with a long winter of despair leading into what appearsto be another difficult season ofPhillies baseball. Regardless ofwhether or not that’s the case, this city gave me a gift in the days leading up to Christmas that no amount of money could have purchased. When it seemed as if the last thing I’d be able to do for theremainder of 2014 is get excited about my sports teams, a little Brotherly Love magic sprinkled down from the Heavens and let me be a fan one more time this year. It’s not a Super Bowl, but today it feels pretty damn close.