This Week In Balls: THIS YEAR IN BALLS
In closing the book on the current year, it serves to remember the giant winds of change that swept the Philly sports world in all four of the major team sports.
After the jump, Michael Fichman looks back on the heavy changes of 2007.
The Year In Balls: A Retrospective
Two-thousand-and-seven, CE may be remembered in Philly sports lore as another twelve months of excitement and disappointment. So it goes. But in closing the book on the current year, it serves to remember the giant winds of change that swept the Philly sports world in all four of the major team sports. Although there were no champions crowned, this year could be remembered as the beginning or turning point in the story arcs of all the Philadelphia teams for the next decade or more.
Here were the most interesting threads, This Year In Balls:
Dark Ages and Renaissance
The beginning of the year was defined by transition and uncertainty. The Sixers were struggling to redefine themselves without Allen Iverson, Philadelphia’s basketball Alan Greenspan: The source of a cryptic frustration but the long-time pilot and oracle. The Flyers were bungling their way towards the worst season in franchise history. Mr. Flyer, Bobby Clarke, had resigned himself to a ceremonial role at the end of 2006, and the future seemed dark and unpredictable.
The Flyers reinvented themselves splendedly for the ‘07-’08 campaign by luring big time free agents and getting back to the borderline psychopathic brand of hockey that has long been the Philly trademark. Their competitiveness is nearly assured for the near future. The Sixers retooled their front office but don’t show many signs of future dominance as they continue to lurch tepidly into the post-Iverson era.
The Big Three
Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb and WHO? Soon this trio will be reduced to a duo — and its membership is far from certain. Early in the year, the Eagles were riding a furious wave of energy behind Jeff Garcia, charging into the playoffs while Donovan McNabb twisted in the wind on the sidelines. But their defeat at the hands of the Saints did nothing to quell the coming storm of quarterback controversy that only intensified later in the year, with the non-signing of Garcia and the drafting of quarterback Kevin Kolb.
All the controversy could have been mollified by a half-decent 2007 campaign. But as we well know, this season was miserable, and pending the result of the final week, the Birds will finish either .500 or a game below. The McNabb era is effectively over it seems, but it has a long tail. How long that tail will be, I don’t know, but mercifully, for Donovan and everybody else, I hope it’s on the short side. Perhaps the axe will fall on Andy Reid too, although that seems less likely. Philly relates to its stars and coaches like a melodramatic lover — easily wooed, easily jilted, passionate but mercurial. Whether or not we can work it out, it’s probably best if we’re not MySpace friends anymore.
Like the Sixers, the Eagles may now find themselves without their longtime figurehead, but their future seems much more secure, given the modularity of football relative to basketball. In football, labor is divided so thoroughly, that a large percentage of the tasks fall to players known to be steady and competent. As long as the quarterback at the reins is passable, they can compete, although they may not win a trophy. If Kolb (or any veteran placeholder like McNabb or Garcia) is steady enough not to beat himself, the Birds may have very bright things in their future.
Spring Eternal
The story of the year in 2007 was most certainly the Phillies, who collectively reduced their fanbase to a giddy mob with the countenance of a seven year old blessed with a shiny new bike. For the several weeks during their epic playoff charge in September, we all felt like feathers (although their loss to the Rockies dissipated such joy very quickly). The Sixers and Flyers sought redefinition this year. The Eagles understood the need for redefinition. The Phillies, on the other hand, began to define themselves in 2007.
The team discovered that its core group of young players can actually win something. There are no more baby steps and no more white elephants — this is a team that can win everything very soon, and this was the year they made it clear that they have clinching ability. They have the ability to keep their palms dry and their drawers clean through August and September — a trait many past Phillies teams have lacked. With a few reliable arms, this Phillies squad could easily compete and win for many years in the coming decade.
Michael Fichman is a writer and DJ living in Philadelphia. He also blogs at Just Sayin’ and Pour The Science. Read more editions of This Week In Balls here.
