Phailure

This blog has unfortunately been prompted by the Flyer's latest exedous from the Stanley Cup Playoffs...

The curse strikes again...

Brief, brief history for those of you not too familiar with The City of Brotherly Love.

Since the time of its completion in 1894, a statue of William Penn (The founder of the Province of Pennsylvania) has sat atop City Hall as the highest point in Philadelphia. In place, was a gentleman's agreement, ensuring that no structure rise above Billy Boy's hat.

The 70's and early 80's were great years for Philly sports teams. Not only were all the teams solid, having many great seasons, but they actually won championships. The Flyers took back-to-back cups in 74 & 75, the Phils won the series in 80 and the Sixers won the championship in 83. In 1984 though, plans were set in place to build skyscrapers in Center City. Construction of One Liberty Place was completed in 1987.

Since 83, no big four Philly sports team has won a championship.

Back to present day.

As I said before, the Fly-Guys were just knocked out of the eastern conference finals after one hell of a postseason run, making it 100 seasons, since one of the major four teams has won a championship. To commemerate this great milestone, SI compiled a list of the 100 biggest heartbreaks since 83. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/05/14/philadelphia.drought/index.html

Here are a few of my "favorites" and most memorable.

100. Phillies lose 10,000th game in franchise history July 15, 2007 With a nationally televised 10-2 loss to the Cardinals, the Phils become the first team in pro sports history to lose 10,000 games.

89. "Talkin' About Practice" May 9, 2002 Was it blown out of proportion? Absolutely. But the negative perception from Allen Iverson's famously surreal half-hour presser would reverse much of the national goodwill earned during his storybook '01 season and haunt the pint-sized scorer for the rest of his Philadelphia career.

87. Brian Westbrook KO'd for playoffs with Week 17 injury Dec. 27, 2003 The scatback Westbrook, one-third of Philly's three-headed monster, led the team with 13 touchdowns during the '03 season. But a torn tricep suffered in a Week 17 blowout victory in Washington required surgery and the Villanova alum missed the playoffs. In his absence, the Eagles mustered just three points in an NFC title game loss to Carolina.

86. Sixers trade for disinterested Chris Webber Feb. 23, 2005 Least favorite Philly sports pastime of the mid-2000s: Watching this gimpy, undersized forward pout and sulk in between hoisting 19-foot jumpers.

80. Fans boo Donovan McNabb at 1999 NFL Draft Apr. 17, 1999 Hindsight undresses Eagles fans on this one. But I'll come clean: I wanted Ricky Williams too.

75. The Charles Barkley spitting incident Mar. 26, 1991 Upset by a courtside heckler's alleged racial epithets in New Jersey, Barkley spit at his tormentor. But the All-Star forward "didn't get enough foam" and the substance ended up hitting an 8-year-old girl was sitting on her mother's lap. The league fined and suspended Barkley, and the subsequent public relations nightmare helped precipitate his trade out of Philly the following year.

57. J.D. Drew sits out whole year instead of signing with Phils 1997 The Phils selected Drew with the second pick of the MLB draft despite warnings the FSU product wouldn't sign for a dime under $10 million. Philadelphia management held their ground and Drew spent a year playing with the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League

55. Pat Croce "resigns" from Sixers July 25, 2001
His rags-to-riches ascent from trainer to team president awakened the organization from its mid-'90s dormancy. But when the public face of the Sixers lobbied for a larger ownership stake following the team's Finals run, Ed Snider banished Croce to a greatly diminished consultant role.

49. Scott Rolen forces trade to Cardinals July 29, 2002
After rejecting a 10-year contract extension which could have been worth up to $140 million, Rolen signed a one-year, $8.6M deal with the intent of leaving as a free agent at season's end. Things turned ugly when an anonymous teammate called the All-Star third baseman a clubhouse cancer and Rolen publicly slammed the team for their lack of commitment to winning. The Phils eventually dealt Rolen to the Cardinals for Placido Polanco, pitcher Bud Smith and reliever Mike Timlin.

43. McNabb's season ended (again) with ACL tear Nov. 19, 2006 McNabb's torn ACL marked the third time in five seasons the Pro Bowl quarterback was lost to injury with six or more games left in the season. Garcia stepped in and lead the Eagles to a surprising division title -- but McNabb would never take another snap without the dreaded injury-prone tag.

42. Larry Brown leaves Sixers for Pistons June 2, 2003
One week after resigning as coach of the Sixers after six years, Brown reached a long-term agreement to coach the Pistons -- the team which eliminated Philadelphia from the playoffs weeks prior.

41. Bucs blanks Eagles in first game at Lincoln Financial Field Sept. 8, 2003 The Eagles christened their sparkling $512 million stadium the same way they closed down the Vet: with an emotionally taxing loss to Tampa Bay. The Eagles couldn't even crack the scoreboard in a dismal 17-0 whitewashing to open the '03 season.

40. Terrell Owens horse-collared against Cowboys Dec. 19, 2004 With victories in 12 of their first 13 games, it seemed nothing could go wrong for the high-flying Eagles. Then Dallas cornerback Roy Williams unleashed a since-outlawed horse-collar tackle on Owens, knocking Philadelphia's top receiver out for the regular season and NFC playoffs.

38. "For Who? For What?" Sept. 3, 1995
Ricky Watters sure knew how to make a first impression. The well-compensated free agent fumbled twice in his first game with the Eagles -- a 21-6 loss to the Buccaneers -- and drew throaty boos from the Vet crowd after short-arming a pass over the middle to avoid contact with a Tampa Bay defender. "I'm not going to trip up there and get knocked out," explained Watters. "For who? For what?"

31. The Eric Lindros trade June 30, 1992 Highly controversial to this day, the Flyers traded Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, a first-round draft pick and future considerations to Quebec in exchange for the rights to Lindros. While he won a Hart Trophy and helped the Flyers to a finals appearance, Lindros earned a reputation for wilting in the spotlight.

25. Oklahoma State debunks the Jameeracle on 54th Street Mar. 27, 2004 The story of the year in college basketball during the '03-04 season centered around a small school from Philadelphia and its diminutive commander at the point. Jameer Nelson led St. Joe's to a No. 1 ranking and a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, but lost 64-62 on a John Lucas III 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left in a thrilling regional final

24. The Owens meltdown and fallout 2005 Holdout threats. Training camp suspension. Sit-ups on the driveway. Next question! It was completely surreal and, in the end, just not worth the trouble.

20. Iverson's last days in Philadelphia 2006Perhaps the most divisive star athlete in city history, Iverson earned and repelled fans equally, but inspired both camps with his reckless playing style. His last months involved a benching on Fan Appreciation Night, fines, and alleged trade demands. The franchise's second all-time leading scorer never got a proper send-off at home.

17. Eagles drop NFC title game thriller in St. Louis Jan. 27, 2002 The Eagles took a 17-13 lead into halftime, but Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce proved too much to handle in the second half as Philly suffered a heartbreaking 29-24 loss in its first conference title game appearance since 1980.

14. Lakers knock out Sixers in Game 5 of NBA Finals June 15, 2001 The Sixers captured the heart of a blue-collar, championship-starved city with their hard-working and defiant approach. When they finally ran out of comebacks against the Lakers in the fifth game of the '01 Finals, the Philadelphia fans gave the team a 10-minute standing ovation after the final horn sounded.

12. Sixers select Shawn Bradley with No. 2 overall pick June 30, 1993 The gangly 7-foot-6 center out of Brigham Young signed a $44M contract, the most lucrative deal in Philadelphia sports history at the time, and ended up becoming a symbol of the team's mid-1990s ineptitude. Bradley hadn't played competitively for two years while working as a Mormon missionary in Australia and it showed. The Sixers gave up on their pet project after just two-and-a-half seasons and sent Bradley to New Jersey in a trade for Derrick Coleman.

11. Red Wings dispense of Flyers in Stanley Cup Finals June 7, 1997 The Flyers went down like lambs against the Red Wings in four games, a quiet end to the team's first Finals trip in a decade. Philadelphia mustered just six goals in the entire series, with Lindros held scoreless until his meaningless tally with 30 seconds left in Game 4.

10. 1993 World Series, Game 4 Oct. 20, 1993 Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter would deliver the coup de grace three nights later in Toronto, but when Larry Andersen and Mitch Williams couldn't hold down a 14-9 lead in the eighth inning of Game 4, you knew the Phils were cooked. The Phils dropped a 15-14 decision -- the highest-scoring game in Fall Classic history.

9. Sixers trade Barkley to Suns July 17, 1992 In the classic three-quarters-for-a-dollar trade, Sixers owner Harold Katz sent Philly's iconic power forward to the Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry. Philadelphia slipped from 35 to 26 victories the following season while Barkley won Most Valuable Player honors and led Phoenix to the Finals.

6. Eagles lose NFC title game for third straight season Jan. 18, 2004 The Eagles fell one game short of the Super Bowl for the third straight year with a 14-3 loss to Carolina in the NFC title game. McNabb tore rib cartilage on a late hit by linebacker Greg Favors and ended up going to the bench in the fourth quarter for understudy Koy Detmer.

5. Sixers miss shot to take '01 Finals stranglehold with Game 2 loss June 8, 2001 After stunning the heavily favored Lakers with an overtime victory in Game 1, the Sixers had a golden opportunity to take a 2-0 series lead back to Philadelphia. Trailing by 13 points in the fourth quarter, Larry Brown's charges used a 13-3 run to close within three points with 2:12 left. But late baskets from Derek Fisher and Robert Horry helped bail the Lakers out, splitting the series at a game apiece.

4. Super Bowl XXXIX Feb. 6, 2005 There was no shortage of talking points following a 24-21 loss to the Patriots, from Philly's failure to capitalize on the Patriots' first-quarter errors to the still-unexplained, time-sapping drive in the fourth quarter.

3. Flyers complete epic East finals collapse against archrivals May 26, 2000 After taking a 3-1 series lead against the Devils, the Flyers mustered just three goals in three games against their Turnpike nemeses to complete a painful seven-game meltdown. Game 7 is best remembered for Scott Stevens' punishing but clean first-period check to knock Eric Lindros out of the game. Lindros would never suit up for the Flyers again.

2. 1993 World Series, Game 6 Oct. 23, 1993
Philadelphians still have a hard time understanding why Jim Fregosi inserted Williams into the game for the ninth inning with the Phils clinging to a 6-5 lead just days after Williams took the loss in the Game 4 disaster. Relief pitchers Roger Mason, David West and Larry Andersen had been shutting down the Blue Jays after starter Terry Mulholland departed in the sixth inning. Williams' fastball to Carter famously ended up in the SkyDome's left-field seats. Touch 'em all, Joe.

1. 2002 NFC Championship Game Jan. 19, 2003
The blindside factor makes the NFC title game between the Eagles and the Bucs the choice as the definitive Philly sports tragedy of the drought era. The idea of losing to Tampa Bay in the final game in Veterans Stadium history was unthinkable. Consider these facts:
* In the three most recent meetings between the teams -- including wild-card showdowns in 2000 and 2001 -- the Eagles had outscored the Bucs by a 72-22 margin.
* The Bucs entered the game 1-21 all-time when the temperature was under 40 degrees (with the lone win coming in Week 17 against the hapless Bears). The gametime temperature in South Philadelphia: 22 degrees and windy.
* Tampa Bay had never won a road playoff game in franchise history.When Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 70 yards -- followed by Duce Staley's touchdown in the first minute -- victory seemed a foregone conclusion. Alas, the Eagles lost the game, 27-10. After sucking the energy out of the Vet with two lengthy touchdown drives during the first half, Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber's sealed the outcome with a 92-yard interception with 3:12 left. It sent 66,713 salty fans to the aisles, an appropriate tribute to a building which provided the stage for 33 years of disappointment and heartbreak.

I was born in 82, that means one championship in my lifetime. My memories of the Sixers winning the NBA championship when I was not even 1 year old is a little blurry. I don't know who I would want to win if I could pick. It'd be between the Phillies and Eagles. I think deep down, the Phils are my squad, but part of me needs the birds to win a Super Bowl so people can't say that they've never won one any longer (even though they're won championships before, just not since the "Super Bowl" was created in I believe 64 or something).

Anyways, just felt like dropping a little knowledge on the history of my four favorite sports franchise's misery.