Its beloved Eagles (aka Iggles) have won the Super Bowl. And Philadelphia is in a state of sustained, giddy glee. The whole city is bathed in green and people are already festooned in Eagles gear in the lead up to Wednesday's Big Parade.
Yes, the Eagles have won. But can Philly and its denizens really begin to feel and act like genuine winners? Put another way, does the Eagles' drubbing of Kansas City finally make Philly a winning town?
We ask this because Philadelphia, stuck between those behemoths of New York and Washington, has always felt overshadowed by the nation's center of commerce to the north and its center of power to the south. When a town that normally would be able to stand tall on its own merits finds itself woefully eclipsed like this, you can understand how it might develop an inferiority complex -- the kind that leads to a hard luck mentality and triggers periodic bursts of feigned bravado laced with resentment.
Consider 1980 when the Phillies won their first World Series victory in decades. It was a magical moment, yet Tug McGraw still felt the need to proclaim: “New York can take this championship and stick it!” Then again in 2018, at the Eagles Super Bowl celebration Jason Kelce sang "nobody loves us, we don't care" and gratuitously dropped the F bomb, just as Phillies player Chase Utley did in 2008 at his team's World Series celebration. And who can forget the 1972-73 Flyers hockey team that proudly donned the monicker "Broad Street Bullies," embracing its pugnacious (and arguably, violent) ways. At moments such as these, you have to ask yourself: what kind of message does this send?
The other night the bullies were out again on Broad Street, this time in the form of young hooligans who "celebrated" by lighting fires in the middle of the street and tearing down traffic lights (see video). Just two weeks prior when the Eagles won the NFC championship a college student tragically died when he fell from a utility pole during that night's Broad Street antics.
When it comes to winning pro sports titles (baseball, basketball, football and hockey) Philadelphia comes in at number six, behind Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and, you guessed it, New York. The Big Apple is the undisputed champ with 54 titles. But then again, it has twice as many teams. Boston (a smaller town than Philly) has an impressive 40 titles. The numbers then drop off into the 20s with Philly at exactly 20 championship titles so far, easily distancing Pittsburgh at 17. That's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. In fact to be just shy of the top five among 12 major cities (even way ahead of Washington and arch enemy Dallas) should be a source of immense, genuine proud -- the type of pride that can and should speak for itself.
So starting now, let's chuck the thuggery, Philly. Ditch the vulgarity, too. Knock that chip off your shoulder and do yourself proud. Show some class and act like a winner! You'll be better -- and stand taller -- for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment