This week WIP has been rolling out their “Top 11” athletes in Philadelphia. As you would expect from that hack outlet, you are getting nothing but a curated list designed to make you mad. It has been the essence of sports radio in the city for as long as I can remember. I get it, fury drives traffic better than agreement, but it’s just so nakedly dishonest.
I write my own list of the most important/best/popular players in the market not to set the record straight, but to show respect to our Super Bowl MVP. Jalen Hurts doesn’t need protection from me, he is impervious to meaningless noise, but the reaction-seeking, microphone and keyboard irritants routinely taking aim at him is baffling. Instead of seeing him as the undeniable role model both children and adults should aspire to be, he is attacked with hollow and disingenuous accusations of being “less than.” Give it up a-holes.
Honorable Mention: The Entire Eagles Offensive Line – I just can’t cop out and put them on the list collectively. They are a living breathing embodiment of everything that the city is and loves. They don’t belong on the list, they belong arguing about it with the rest of us!
11b. Joel Embiid – Embiid clings to the list only ceremonially. I do not have much hope he ever plays meaningful minutes for the Sixers again. If he can return though, he instantly vaults into the top 3 as the sheer gravity of his potential talent is unmatched. He was that good, even if he could never fully realize it and we could never fully appreciate it.
11a. DeVonta Smith – DeVonta is the heart and soul of the Eagles. His business-like demeanor and selflessness often makes his elite skill go unappreciated. Does anyone realize he took a discount to stay with the Eagles? Does anyone remember his catch of the year against the Jags? He is a #1 receiver on most teams but willfully sacrifices for the greater good; not for attention, but to win.
10. Matvei Michkov – The great Russian hope for hockey in Philadelphia makes the list because he is the still beating pulse of the Flyers long thought dead or dormant deep within us. We all yearn for the Flyers to be relevant and crave to hear that beat get louder. Michkov is the best chance we have for a hockey star since before Claude Giroux and we all know it.
9. Cooper DeJean – The Eagles season turned around last year the game he was inserted into the defense. His only loss as a starter was the game where Jalen went down against Washington. Even though Cooper and Quinyon Mitchell are probably equals in terms of talent, the “awe-shucks”, Iowa farmboy, dunking on people in high school, picking-off-Patrick-Mahomes-and-returning-it-for-a-TD-to-make-everyone-realize-holy-shit-we-are-going-to-kick-their-ass-in-the-Super-Bowl -ness of Cooper puts him on the list.
8. Zack Wheeler – The personality off the field doesn’t match the sheer dominance of a top-3 pitcher of his generation on the field. Any other pitcher with his resume would be higher on a list like this, but Zack shies away from interviews and the spotlight at all costs. He is about as unassuming a superstar athlete could possibly be. We’ll never see another Roy Halladay, but Zack fills the gap nicely. He’s that good.
7. Tyrese Maxey – He is slowly growing up from the energetic, smiling, little brother energy he came into the league with, but it’s still there. There may not be a more lovable athlete in sports where just watching Maxey exist is enough to win most over. Throw in his steady but exponential improvement year over year and he is the perfect ambassador you would want to cover the flaws of this dreadfully imperfect team.
6. Jalen Carter – Is this too high or too low? Carter has the chance to be the second coming – not of Fletcher Cox – but of Reggie White. He is the most talented and powerful defender in the league and is just scratching the surface of what he can do on the field with DPOYs in his future. That’s not why he’s on the list though. He’s on the list because they know, we know, and he knows that he’s going to dominate.
5. Bryce Harper – The shine has come off a little bit with the flat nature of the roster, but because of his MVP, his elite-level pandering, and what he did in 2022 we all still believe that he can rescue this baseball team. It takes a special kind of personality and performance for a city to simply believe that an athlete has the power to make everything better. Outside of the current Eagles team, Bryce is the only one since Utley, Howard, and Rollins that I have felt that way about.1
4. AJ Brown – He does not fit your stereotype. AJ Brown is a uniquely talented and competitive presence that doesn’t need to tell anyone how great he is. He gets lumped in with diva wide receivers, but that isn’t his game. Yes, he is emotional, but AJ leads on this team by example and the media doesn’t appreciate that. He has god given talent, but his work ethic keeps him going as the top receiver in the NFL now going into year 7. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s make it simple: he’s the coolest most badass guy on the team.
3. Kyle Schwarber – The polished, elder statesman of the previously mentioned Cooper DeJean mystique. Kyle ranks above Harper on the list because he is simply more relatable than Bryce. Harper has been a star since he was a teenager whereas Schwarber was cast off from the Cubs and looks like he should be on your beer league softball team. While Harper is probably spending his time staring intently at his injured wrist force-willing it back into compliance, Kyle is probably just hanging out somewhere talking to the stranger next to him. He’s cool, calm, and generally likeable in a way that makes you remember the ’93 Phillies. If you ever wondered why that particular team was so endearing, look no further than #12. He would fit in perfectly on that roster. Who doesn’t like Kyle Schwarber?
2. Saquon Barkley – We just witnessed one of the greatest seasons by an athlete ever. That is not hyperbole. We all saw it and knew it while we were watching it. Throw in that he went to Penn State, embarrassed the Giants, routinely gave at least one highlight reel moment each game, has the biggest smile, AND capped the season with a Super Bowl and he would be #1 on any list in any other market.
1. Jalen Hurts – Do yourself a favor and put away the stats, the wins, and the trophies. Don’t get caught up in picking nits about what he supposedly can’t do as a passer, his supporting cast, or his situation. Those will all take care of themselves in the end when he is a first ballot Hall of Famer. His career right now is no different than that of a young Troy Aikman and Steve Young, generational and unimpeachable QBs. He has come up big in situations where Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers have routinely come up short. Everyone will eventually understand all that. You don’t need to have those arguments.
Jalen Hurts embodies the kind of life everyone should be praising, not trying to tear down. He is a leader who doesn’t need to yell. He is an achiever who doesn’t need to tell you about it. He is a hard worker who teammates root for. He is a target who doesn’t need defending. He is a winner berated by losers. Jalen Hurts transcends lists like these. He doesn’t even need to be on it and that’s why he’s at the top.
- No, I am not leaving out Nick Foles. His run was an out of body experience that transcends time and space. Completely different. ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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