SI decided to regale those outside of our fine metropolis about our recent sports heartbreak. And by "recent", I really mean "the past 25 years". They have come out with a list of the top 100 heartbreaking moments from the past 25 years. It reminds those of us that love the local Philly teams why we are often right when we become pessimistic.
It also reminds me of why we can get so cantankerous as fans.
The author, Bryan Armen Graham, is a Philadelphian and did an excellent job of detailing some of the sports woes we've experienced in the past 25 years (which means, there is nary a Santa reference to be found).
There were one error and a couple minor points of contention I had with this article:
1.) Item 97: Rod Brind'Amour was not the team captain. That was one Eric Lindros. And I'm not 100% sure this should be on the list. Keith Primeau turned in one of the all-time great playoff runs in 2004. Primeau was the unquestioned leader of the Flyers to the point where he got Flyer legend Bill Barber fired. We all know Brindy eventually won the Cup, but don't think this trade belongs on this list.
2.) Item 95: You could make the case that the Bobby Abreu trade was addition by subtraction. We got rid of his salary and his blaise attitude. The Phils truly become Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley's team when Abreu was shipped out.
3.) Item 88: I'm sorry, but the recent Pens series just doesn't rank on this list. The Flyers were the worst team in the league the year before. The Pens were favored; they were supposed to win. Don't know how this makes the list, other than it's the most recent loss.
4.) Item 31: Say what you want about how Eric Lindros' time in Philly went, but you can't argue that he made the franchise relevant again when he came here. As the Sports Guy would say, this topic is it's own column. Lindros is indirectly responsible for getting the Wachovia Center (born the Corestates Center) built. I can't say this was a good trade for the Flyers in hindsight, but it wasn't like the Flyers didn't benefit. This trade probably deserves to be on the list, but maybe not this high.
5.) Item 17: That 2002 NFC Championship game wasn't as close as the final score would indicate. Yes, the Eagles lost and it sucked, but didn't you have the feeling that the Rams were the better team and that the Eagles would eventually get their Championship?
6.) Item 12: You can't underestimate how far back the Sixers were set back, as a franchise, by picking Shawn Bradley. This could be a top 5 selection on this list, bumping the 2001 Sixers from the top 5 (when in reality, the 2001 Sixers were just not going to beat the Lakers).
Check out the entire article here.
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