Long ago, the greatest era in Philly Sports History occured from 1974 to 1983.
The first golden age of Philly sports happened when the Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 in what was arguably the greatest sports moment in Philadelphia history...until the Eagles won Super Bowl 52.
Similar to today, the Flyers winning their first cup ended a brutal period in Philadelphia sports in which all of the teams were historically bad in the early 1970s.
The city saw great sports success over the next decade: The Flyers won a second straight Stanley Cup. The 76ers acquired Julius Erving from the Nets and reached four NBA finals in seven seasons. The Phillies developed into a contender with Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton. And the Eagles turned things around as head coach Dick Vermeil led them to their first Super Bowl appearance.
The peak of that era was in 1980 when all four pro franchises reached the championship round and the Phillies won their first world title.
The golden era for professional teams in Philly ended when the 76ers finally won a championship with the great Dr. J along with Hall of
The next 25 years turned out to be a series of highs and lows for Philly sports.
There were some
Then finally in
The Flyers became inconsistent and made bad roster changes since their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010. The Phillies amazing five-year run ended abruptly as their winning spirit dried up and star players aged almost overnight. The Eagles ended the bitter Andy Reid era having never won a Super Bowl but were humiliated again with the Chip Kelly experiment turning into a major debacle. And the 76ers tried a controversial new approach to rebuilding by tanking to acquire assets in what became known as "The Process."
Too long Philly wondered in Winter. It wasn't so long ago that Philadelphia teams and their fans were getting constantly humiliated on social media and around the country. From 2013 to 2017 not one of the four major teams won a single playoff series. In 2015 none of them even MADE the playoffs.
In 2016 however, there were sparks for hope. The Sixers most prized asset of The Process, Joel Embiid, was finally able to get on the court. The Eagles moved up in the NFL draft to take a quarterback from North Dakota State named Carson Wentz. The Flyers made a run near the end of the season to make the playoffs. And the Sixers 10 win season paid off by winning the NBA Draft Lottery and the prize of LSU's Ben Simmons. And, to top it off, the Villanova Wildcats returned to the March Madness title game and won it on one of the greatest buzzer-beaters of all-time from Kris Jenkins. The pieces were there, the sparks were flying, a groundswell of Philadelphia freedom was beginning. Little did we know how quickly the fruits of Philly's labor were delivered.
As mentioned earlier, the greatest moment in Philadelphia sports history was the Flyers winning the Stanley Cup and kicking off the Golden Era in 1974. That was the cities' greatest sports moment until the Eagles won Super Bowl 52.
From humble expectations, the Philadelphia Eagles led a 2017 campaign that bordered on the surreal. Cynics doubted, fans waited for the other shoe to drop as it always had before, and believers embraced it while knowing there was an unknown conclusion to the journey. They had lost their best soldier and MVP-candidate Carson Wentz in the last month of the regular season. They entered the playoffs with the home-field advantage but had their backup quarterback and veteran journeyman Nick Foles under center. Despite being underdogs at home, the Eagles got a low-scoring win over the Atlanta Falcons and then blew out the Minnesota Vikings in a shockingly dominant performance in the NFC title game.
Like George Washington leading his army to defeat the British empire, Doug Pederson led the Eagles to defeat the Patriot empire in one of the most incredible Super Bowls ever played. Touchdowns were scored, cannons were fired, players were hit, casualties were large, coaches game planned, generals made strategies. With two minutes left, the Patriots had the ball needing the touchdown to take the lead. As was in Super Bowls past, the script for another Tom Brady comeback was there, until Brandon Graham swiped the ball out of his hands for the first sack of the game and it fell into Derek Barnett's hands. This was the Eagles day. A last-second Hail Mary bounced and fell on the ground, and Philadelphia sports witnessed a new birth of freedom!
Like in the Revolutionary War, Philadelphians ran the streets of their city and gathered in celebration for the greatest victory since gaining Independence and the dawning of a sports Renaissance.
The success of the Eagles became contagious: Villanova ascended to become a college powerhouse with a second National Championship in three years a month later. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid proved The Process would pay off in leading the Sixers to their first 50 win season since the 2001 NBA Finals year. The Flyers are in the playoffs and landed a top hockey prospect in Nolan Patrick. Even the Phillies (who did not start off on a good note in the Gabe Kapler era) have a couple of young players who could potentially lead the franchise back to a Red October in Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery.
So as we move forward to a new golden age in Philadelphia Sports let us never forget how far we've come from not so long ago. Never forget the doubters and naysayers and the national media and internet trolls.
This success is ours and ours alone!
Let the Renaissance begin!
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