It is both a joyous and tough time to be a Philadelphia sports fan. Hockey fans will hope the Flyers can go on enough of a run to sneak into the playoffs. The 76ers are a top team, but are 1-3 against the likes of Boston and Milwaukee so far this year. They'll need to beat at least one of those teams in the playoffs to do what the other three Philly based teams have done this year. Get to their respective championships. But, of course, they'd hope to do a little bit better than the others fared.
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Philadelphia Union Lose MLS Cup to LAFC on Penalties
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The Union had one heck of a season in MLS. Much like the Chiefs and Eagles coming in to Super Bowl LVII with identical records, the Union and LAFC both entered the MLS Cup final having finished the regular season with 67 points in their respective conferences. But Philly did it only losing five times all season. They scored the most goals (72) while giving up the fewest (26), leaving them with a goal difference 30+ better than everyone else in the East.
In 2021, the number one seeds in each conference fell after long layoffs in their first playoff game. Philly was determined to flip the script on that. They entered their Conference semi-finals against FC Cincinnati after an 11 day layoff, and came out 1-0 winners. They then hosted New York City FC, the 2021 MLS Cup Winners, and downed them 3-1. This set up a date with LAFC in Los Angeles.
Jesús Murillo put LAFC up 2-1 at the 83 minute mark, in a moment that should have taken the wind out of their sales. However two minutes later Jack Elliott netted to send the game to extra time. LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau made a crunching tackle that ended up breaking his own leg, as well as earning him a red card, in the 116th minute. Then, we moved into added time, and four minutes past the 120 minute mark, Jack Elliott struck again. It was all there for the Union to take it home.
Gareth Bale had something else to say about it, netting the equalizer at the death, sending the game to penalties. At that point, the wind was out of Philly's sails. They were unable to convert a single penalty kick, while LAFC netted three to beat the Philadelphia Union in devastating fashion.
Philadelphia Phillies Follow Suit in the World Series
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Nobody had the Phillies in the World Series on their 2022 BINGO cards. They finished third in the NL East, 14 games behind the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, both who finished at 101-61. If not for the expansion of the MLB playoffs, the Phillies wouldn't have even booked a ticket. They finished their last 10 games of the season on a 4-6 run, and limped into a playoff spot. What happened next was the most unexpected run we could have imagined.
Philly went to St. Louis and beat the Cardinals in the Wild Card two games to none. They traveled to Atlanta for the Division Series, splitting the first two games away before going home to punch the Braves in the mouth with 9-1 and 8-3 victories. They continued the trend and split the first two games away against San Diego. But after that Game Two loss they never looked back.
Entering the World Series against the Houston Astros was never going to be an easy task. But, once again, Philly took Game One and lost Game Two. There was excitement brewing in Philadelphia. After a Game Three 7-0 shellacking, they found themselves up in the series 2-1 in complete control of their own destiny. However they lost a tightly contested Game Five before traveling back to Houston to play a potential series clinching game on the same day the Philadelphia Union lost to LAFC in shocking fashion.
And, unfortunately, the Philadelphia Phillies followed suit. They lost 4-1, making the Houston Astros World Series Champions yet again. And delivering the city of Philadelphia their second championship loss of the day.
The Eagles Fell Flat on Their Faces in Super Bowl LVII
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
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The Philadelphia Eagles were the last team to lose a game in the regular season. They made it through eight games before finally getting the first L next to their name in the standings. There seemed to be little doubt that the Eagles were destined for a deep playoff run. And they were. They steamrolled the New York Giants in the Divisional Round before beating a Quarterback-less San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The Eagles defense was straight up nasty, and Jalen Hurts was proving wrong hater after hater.
What was weird, is that they came into Super Bowl LVII with identical stats to the Kansas City Chiefs. They both came into the Super Bowl 16-3 on the year, including playoffs. Both scored 546 points, averaged 4.6 yards per carry and had four takeaways in the playoffs. Heck, each of them even had a Kelce brother.
The halftime score was only 24-14, but the Chiefs had one of those touchdowns on a freak fumble by Hurts. Philly completely dominated that first half. But, late defensive pass interference aside, that was the end of an otherwise great performance by the Eagles. Patrick Mahomes let his ankle injury push him to another gear, the Eagles defense had its wings clipped, and they full on face planted on the awful field on which the NFL had spent $800k. Whether you believe officiating pulled the strings at the end or not, the Eagles had dominated the first half and should never have been in the position to lose as the final seconds ticked away.
Here's hoping the 76ers can deliver a fourth piece of heartbreak in less than a year.
What? I'm a Boston guy. I'm loving every second of this.
