Not only does this half wit of a sports reporter reporter for the assosiated press (Bob Lentz author and Ben Walker contributor) feel it nessasary to comment on our inablity to win a championship like the rest of the sports media, he has to go the extra mile of igonance and trash a city to which the greatest exposure he has probably ever has was in his car on I-95 and the parking lots at CBP.

He defines the type of person that I run into all across the country who by blindly into the negitive media stero type of Philadelphia.

I just needed to vent after I read this on the Phillies Board on ESPN.com here's the link http://www.timesleader.com/news/ap?articleID=573924



Title drought gnaws at Philadelphia




PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The four-mile stench of Broad Street, ( hooker row) from City Hall to the sports complex, is a poor man's "Canyon of Zeroes," where downtown office buildings give way to stouh South Philly blight,storefronts and crack houses.
It's a stench of blacktop that is littered un-kempt ground for fans of the Phillies, Flyers, 76ers and Eagles, where Philadelphians gather to celebrate their sports heroes and championships " at least they used to. Most of whom have died or were not born since the last one. This drought makes the 1932 dust bowl look like a rain forest.

Twenty-five years have passed since the minions last crowded the sidewalks ( 40oz. in hand ) along the thoroughfare and rioted a title, a silver anniversary of futility made all the more painful by Boston, where the Celtics just gave their city its sixth pro championship in seven years. And division rival the New York Football GIANTS Superbowl Championship

How are Philly fans to cope?
Their heroes and dealers of the past encourage them to appreciate the near-successes, ( total failure) the joy of being in contention, the anticipation of a championship season, the fun of the game. And they counsel patience, up to a point. Wait till next year is oft repeated. But next year never comes

"It is such aillusive thing," said Billy Cunningham, a member of the Sixers' 1967 title team and coach of the 1983 champions. That is unless you are a Giants fan doing well. ... Things are cyclical."
After finals flameouts in 1980 and '82,
Who could have known that beer soaked parade and near riot on June 2, 1983, would be the city's last chance to celebrate,
"It's like, how long will this go on?" Dr. J said earlier this year. "There's something in the water in philly that makes the minions dfeel worthy,yet they arent

"It's not cool anymore."
Near-misses have followed, with fruitless Flyers trips to the finals in 1985, '87 and '97.
"I don't think the fans are too tough," Just too drunk and stupid "said former Flyers goalie Bernie Parent, the Vezina Trophy winner in both Cup seasons. "They are very ignorant of all four teams. They're poor people, some might say weak minded, and 25 years is a long time, so they deserve a beating"
The Phillies have done more losing than winning " more than 10,000 losses prove it.
The Phillies haven't hoisted the World Series hardware since, falling short against the Baltimore Orioles in 1983 and the Toronto Blue Jays in '93. A fold job for all time.
One franchise that doesn't have much to fondly remember is the Eagles.
Birds fans have watched their team evolve from a group of hapless losers to almost constant folders, but its only NFL championship came in 1960 against the Green Bay Packers. The team reached the Super Bowl in 1981 and 2005 and came away empty.
"Fans should be glad that we are here at all" said Tommy McDonald, a Hall of Fame receiver for the 1960 team. "Tell the fans not to pretend Just buy the tickets and go, because we are in the entertainment business."
"In Philly, like most towns, the atmosphere at the stadium is more upbeat and more exciting when the team is a contender," Dollar dog night becomes a beer guzzling fest with the game an after thought. the Hall of Fame third baseman said.


The Eagles have enjoyed no success, although the window of opportunity might be closing for ( oft injured ) veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb and his teammates, and the Flyers made a quick turnaround from one of the worst teams in the NHL to reach the Eastern Conference finals this year. Yet blew it again

And the 76ers, who lost in the finals seven years ago to the Lakers, made the playoffs this season for the first time since 2005.
"They are all going great now," Parent said. "I think it is going to be a great four, five, six seven years coming up. ... Everybody is getting healthy, they are building up with good young players and I think we're going to have some fun in Philly the next few years."
AP National Writer Ben Walker in New York contributed to this report.

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"Tis' but a flesh wound"

Yes, it's a poor excuse for a "news" article since, by now, everybody has soundly covered our sports failures. That said, you're getting worked up over nothing. The original article, which you linked to, contains none of the negative phrases and additions that are present in the ESPN.com board version--which, for the record, can be found here:

http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb?sport=mlb&i d=phi&tid=3035748&lid=1

This is obviously someone's lame attempt at humor. Criticize the AP for printing a non-newsworthy story, but not for bashing Philly; they didn't do it.

My bad I jumped to conclusions before I found the real artical.

__________________
"Tis' but a flesh wound"

To paraphrase the great Canadian philosopher Shatner:
I'd just like to say... GET A LIFE, will you people? I mean, for crying out loud, it's just sports!

I like the Mets, I'll watch games on TV, listen to them on the radio, maybe even go to a couple of games, but I am not going to obsess about the team.

Sports seems to be way too important here. The media is obsessed with it, the populace seems to care too much about it (probably as a form of escapism) and a lack of other things going for it (like some sort of industry, a competent government or police force), of course as a way for the city to provide a means to show it is as worthy as other cities in an attempt to make up from an obvious inferiority complex as evidenced by the large phallic building in the French Dildo style that serves as city hall.

Quite frankly, the Philadelphia sports fans are worse than Yankee fans. They have to wake up are realize that there is more to life than watching overpaid people play children's games.

The only sports fans worse than Yankees fans are Boston fans, and even this has only been true for the last few years. I can handle intense fans. I'm not that intense myself, but it certainly doesn't bother me. I can't stand smug fans.