Philly Front Office

One of my Braves fan friends¹ (who is also inexplicably an Eagles and Sixers fan)² called me out for proclaiming the Phillies BACK last night. He then went full Randy Quaid from Major League 2 after the Game 6 win over the Celtics. He correctly pointed out that these are the same teams that I (we) already gave up on. “Yeah,” I replied, “but that was 3 days ago!”

4:10p – Phillies at Marlins
7:30p – Sixers at Celtics
8p – Flyers at Hurricanes

Saturday Schedule

Just mentally, what a difference 3 days has made. On Monday, the Flyers lost to the Penguins and brought the series to an agonizing 3 games to 2 with visions of blowing a 3-game lead very vividly taunting all of us. That same day the Sixers were down 3 games to 1 to the Celtics after the team completely failed to show up for Joel Embiid’s miraculous return from an appendectomy. The Sixers were all but officially dead. The Phillies spent that off day pondering their managerial future and had apparently decided that all was fine and would not be making any changes. The Eagles gave us no complaints, but we also couldn’t be farther from any football that mattered to come and save us. Things were bleak.

Phillies, It’s Time

On Tuesday, the morning began with the Phillies firing manager Rob Thomson. Regardless of how you feel about Topper or where the blame should go, something had to be done and firing the manager was probably always going to be the first big move. The Phillies needed a slap in the face and got one. That night, Jesus Luzardo had one of the finest games of his career going 7 shutout innings in just 88 pitches on the way to a 7-0 Phillies win. In post-game interviews, it looked like the players had received the message.

Around the time the Phillies were wrapping up, the Sixers had just closed the gap on the Celtics in the 3rd quarter of Game 5. They had trailed but kept it close for most of the game and just when we were all expecting the patented Sixers 3Q collapse, the opposite happened. After going down 63-50, the Sixers came back to trail by just 1 going into the 4th. Then the unthinkable, the Sixers laid the wood to Boston in Boston. A slim 97-94 lead became a 109-94 ass-kicking less than 5 minutes later. There would be a Game 6.

Baseball was washed out on Wednesday which allowed the Phillies to attend that night’s Flyers Game 6 at the Eczema (XMA). With the score still tied at zero in the 3rd period, JT Realmuto, Trea Turner, and other Phillies were shown on the jumbotron. They were promptly and rightfully booed. In defense of everyone, the game was really goddamn tense at the time with the crowd all experiencing seriously clenched butt cheeks thinking the worst. At the same time, the Phillies needed to know that one win did not get them off the hook for their miserable April.

17 minutes, 32 seconds into OT, Cam York put a deep shot into the back of the net and all the cheeks came unclenched as he chucked his stick into the crowd. The Flyers had sent their archrivals back home to Pittsburgh to clean out their lockers and hockey was officially BACK in Philadelphia. Yes, we have to face the #1 seed Carolina Panthers next, but that hardly matters. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and the rest of the pompous, entitled, cheap asshole Penguins had been dispatched by us. It felt really f*****g good.

Flyers vs Penguins: No Money? No Problems!

Come Thursday, I had a really bad feeling and it followed me the whole day through both games of a Phillies double header and the Sixers in Game 6; I felt good. Sports optimism scares the hell out of me. Before Super Bowl 52 between the Eagles and the Patriots, despite it being the biggest game of my fan life, I had that same bad, optimistic feeling. I thought we were going to win. I hate that! It’s like I’m doing fandom wrong by ignoring my inherent defense mechanism of readied disappointment. I know these games aren’t the same as the Eagles’ first Super Bowl, but it was the same reserved good feeling.

The Phillies trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th against the Giants in what was basically the same way they had trailed in any number of games in April. Failing to get the big hit when we needed it and only scoring in one inning, flailing the rest of the game. When the bottom of the 9th came, I just knew we were going to come back and win. Then the much maligned Bryson Stott came up and hit a triple to tie the game, just fair. Justin Crawford would win it 2 batters later. Never in doubt. The Phillies blew a 4-2 lead in the second game, and down 5-4 in the 9th, again, the win was going to happen. This time it was Kyle Schwarber tying it in the 9th only for the even-more-maligned-than-Stott Alec Bohm to win it in the 10th. Also never in doubt.

All of this was the prelude for Sixers vs Celtics Game 6. Many of us with PTSD of great Sixers letdowns of the past were worried that this would be the dud game that seemed to always follow a big win. The only problem was that it just didn’t feel like that this time. Again, reserved optimism. The worries were unfounded (even if completely understandable). We took the lead in the 2nd quarter, pulled away in the 3rd, and coasted in with big buckets down the stretch against the Boston reserves who were still putting up a fight. There will be a Game 7 on Saturday in Boston.

First Look at the 2026-27 Sixers

What am I trying to say? Well, first, I’m not trying to jinx us. I know the odds are against the Flyers beating the Hurricanes, the Phillies coming back in the division, and the Sixers winning the series (let alone anything more). The fact that the Phillies have to travel to our House of Horrors in Miami and the Phillies have to go to Boston seems particularly cruel. Instead, I needed to point out what a difference just a few days can make.

There are no moral victories in sports. Losing in 7 will be just as bad as losing in 4 by the offseason. It might even make it worse. Was my friend right to call me out for giving up? Of course he was! We all claim we give up all the time. The truth is that we never really do, we just don’t want it to feel so bad. We still watch all the games regardless, just hoping that something like what happened over the last 3 days happens. Even when it seems damn near impossible, it can always still happen. That’s why we still watch, never truly give up, and why just 3 measly days can mean everything.

1. Let’s call him Danny T. No, that’s too obvious. D. Temple ↩︎
2. There’s a good reason for this, but it’s still absurd. Danny, quit the Braves already. It’s embarassing. ↩︎