Today is Thanksgiving and I will be spending it in bed with the flu. No Turkey Trot this morning and no dinner later. I was delirious yesterday and am miserable today. Things are looking up! Despite feeling like hell it has given me some time to think and block out all the negativity surrounding our teams.
The title is a popular old “curse” that hopes for upheaval rather than peace. Could anything be more on the nose about Philly sports? We couldn’t be uninteresting of we tried! Granted we spend most of these interesting times worrying about the teams and finding ways not to fully enjoy it, but we accept that as fandom. It’s exactly what the curse is talking about. Well, you know what? I love it! That and so much more makes me thankful this Thanksgiving.
Relevance
Earlier this year a Carolina Panthers podcast actually gave up following years of ineptitude. Of course, the team promptly got hot after that, but they are still irrelevant for the most part. After Bryce Young, can you identify another Panther? The Eagles are front page news even when nothing is happening. It might seem annoying when the media is seemingly trying to cause fights within the team with their coverage, but they wouldn’t do it if we all weren’t hanging on the edge of our seats about them. Thanks to the Super Bowl and the current run of success, we care, the media cares, everyone cares about the Eagles.
This has been an interesting side note of The Process too. I know the Sixers rebuild is more than a decade in the past now, but it has caused a lingering hatred in fans around the league for our basketball team. Don’t believe me? Go online and look up Joel Embiid. You will never find an injured athlete with a more negative public opinion than him. He is 31 and hasn’t been at his peak for 2 years and it’s never coming back. Despite this objectively sad story, people relish in his sorrow. Why? It all goes back to The Process. No one seems to care that the Thunder just won a title with the same strategy or that tanking is so prevalent that teams are manipulating games to ensure losses. This is fine. The Sixers though, they should go to hell for The Process. I’ll take it!
What really makes our teams relevant though? The stars. Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley are faces of the NFL. Outside of Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper may be the most recognizable baseball player in the world. Even without him though, there’s Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner, and maybe even more Kyle Schwarber. The Sixers have Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George with Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe poised to be marketable in their own right.
Competitiveness
There’s a reason why we are all losing our minds at the Eagles offense right now, we can feel a dynasty. The whole team is young, the defense is ferocious, but our once dominant offense can’t seem to get its head out of its ass. What we took for granted for much of last year might be what holds us back this year. With no other teams separating themselves from the pack, back to back title is in our grasp and we all know it. Throwing this season away like in 2023 is simply not an option.
The Phillies are in a similar boat. Before you chuckle your way to something else to read, hear me out. They have made the playoffs 4 consecutive years. MLB has the smallest pool of playoff teams with just 12 of 30 making it. To be in the hunt for 4 straight years is not something that should be taken for granted even if we haven’t won the big one yet. Just ask the Mets and Braves if success is a given. In a sport without a salary cap, the Phillies are routinely in the top 5 in payroll. It hasn’t worked out but they are trying.
As for the Sixers, things haven’t gone as planned. That’s an understatement. Maybe betting on Joel Embiid’s health wasn’t wise, but they couldn’t just give up on him either. Adding Paul George was a misstep too. You would obviously go back and undo both moves with hindsight, but the plan was solid at the time. I’m happy we went for it. Of course now we are in a few years of purgatory, but we have the next generation of Sixers ready to go. We are not going to bottom out again.
Competence
I have left out the Flyers so far, but that’s because they had been dealt a bad hand. This team has long bad contracts and years of the draft going either “just fine” or bad. Danny Briere seems to know what he’s doing though. They made a sly move for Trevor Zegras, took a risk on Matvei Michkov, and got themselves a professional coach who doesn’t see himself as the main character. We are still years and a star away, but the Flyers are finally getting themselves together.
Over the last 4 years the Phillies made it to the World Series, blew another chance at a World Series, and flirted with the best record in baseball twice. They have one of the best rotations in baseball and are shockingly prepared for the future with 3 legit prospects ready to hit the majors. This team is built to not go away like it did in the 2010s. People give him shit and not everything has worked out, but Dave Dombrowski knows what he’s doing.
As for Daryl Morey, the jury is out. On his biggest swings, he has missed badly. However, he was able to move Ben Simmons’s contract for James Harden (of which we still have draft picks saved up from moving Harden to the Clippers). He drafted Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and VJ Edgecombe. He’s not an idiot. For all those who want him fired, now might be his time to shine. Morey has always done his best work around the edges and that will be all we have for the next few years.
The best for last and I’ll keep it simple. Howie Roseman is the best GM in sports.
Likeability
The fact that the media is so desperate to tear down Jalen Hurts should tell you everything you need to know about the man. He doesn’t do anything wrong. They have somehow taken winning, the literal most important thing in sports, and made it a negative for him. That’s the corner he has them in. He lives his life the right way by working hard, caring about his teammates, and giving back to the community. He is as likeable as they come…unlike everyone in Kansas City. I haven’t even gotten to the offensive line that records Christmas albums, the running back who chose the Eagles over our arch rival, or the defense that’s basically one big Georgia family. Plus, DeVonta Smith. If he isn’t your favorite Eagle, you need to do some soul searching.
Tyrese Maxey might be the most likeable player in the NBA. He goes 100 mph with the brightest smile you’ve ever seen. He hits big shots, leads the team, and is the kind of person you want dating your daughter. VJ Edgecombe isn’t far behind. His story about using his NIL money from college to start a scholarship program in his native Bahamas is the kind of thing that will make you cry. Plus, there’s Jared McCain, Kelly Oubre, and everyone else on the team that just seems to try hard and like their fellow teammates. Pay no attention to those injured Sixers behind the curtain.
The Phillies are at a crossroads in terms of likeability. Human teddy bear Kyle Schwarber might be gone same with the most likeable man on Earth Ranger Suarez. The Daycare has hit its very awkward tween phase while Bryce Harper looks like he spends his weekends polishing his 1985 Firebird Trans Am with the T-Tops instead of helping out with his dozen children inside. The transition to the next phase of young guys can’t come soon enough.
I don’t know enough about the personalities of the Flyers but I do know that even when they get down in games they don’t give up. Just last night they were down 2-0 to the defending champs and came back with 4 straight goals. That will make you real damn likeable in this city.
Family and the Website
Without going too into it, the last few years weren’t very fun. My family and this website got me out of the funk I was in. She is a saint. It’s hard to put into words how much she means to me. She is a Miamian and 20 years ago was looking for a reason to not like the Marlins. The Phillies gave her one. It’s been a rough go with the Eagles because of Michael Vick, but we got through that. She isn’t giving up the Heat and she shouldn’t.
As for the website, it is doing pretty well and seems to be increasing in popularity each month. Before it launched I was not on social media at all. Since though, I have found some great people and nice communities of fans online. Outside of a few “F U” comments, the whole experience has been very positive. I was very nervous about this so I am truly thankful for the welcome I have received. Thank you!
Over the next year, I want to find a way to improve the site any way I can. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears. My goal is for this to become a one stop shop for Philly sports news and contract info. Thank you again for an amazing year.
GO BIRDS!
Philly Front Office 
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