For Philly sports fans, the living is easy — for now | Editorial

The Phillies are playoff-bound. The Eagles are undefeated. The Union are favored to reach the championship game. The Sixers look like contenders. The Flyers? Well, they still have Gritty.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrating after defeating the Washington Commanders last month. The 24-year-old, in only his second season as the full-time starter, has led the Birds to their first 4-0 record in 18 years.Read morePatrick Smith / Getty Images

by The Editorial Board

Published Oct. 6, 2022, 5:02 a.m. ET

Few things bring Philly together like sports. The city’s professional teams have had their share of ups and (many) downs. But lately, the teams are on a roll.

The Phillies are in the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The Eagles are 4-0 and the only undefeated team in the NFL. The Union of Major League Soccer sit atop the Eastern Conference and are favored to reach the championship game. Meanwhile, the Sixers appear ready to contend for a title after some excellent off-season moves. As for the Flyers, well, they still have Gritty.

Sports unite the Philadelphia region across the racial, political, and economic divide, and provide a welcome escape from everything but the incessant election and gambling commercials. When the teams are winning, it seems as if the collective mood of the city and region brightens.

Hardcore fans live and die by the Eagles. And lately, the living has been easy. Quarterback Jalen Hurts, just 24 years old, has stepped up his game, dispelling the doubts many had about him before the season.

Last season, rookie coach Nick Sirianni was mocked for comparing the team to a flower that needs water and fertilizer to grow. After one loss, a fan threw a bouquet of flowers at him.

Turns out, Sirianni was right. The team is blooming.

The last time the Eagles started the season 4-0 was in 2004, when they went to the Super Bowl. This year’s quick start has fans dreaming of another Super Bowl parade like the one in 2018 that left the city on a high for weeks. No pressure, guys.

The Phillies, on the other hand, spent a decade in the desert. After a string of wait-‘til-next-years, the Phillies will play their first playoff game Friday in more than 4,000 days — the longest postseason absence in the National League.

Many young fans celebrated the end of the playoff drought by posting on TikTok. The last time the Phillies were in the playoffs, TikTok didn’t exist.

To paint even more of a picture, the last time the Phillies were in the playoffs (2011), Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins were in the lineup. Donald Trump was hosting Celebrity Apprentice. But the more things change, the more they stay the same: In 2011, gas prices topped $4 a gallon.

Unlike the Whiz Kids of 1950, today’s Phillies are the Comeback Kids. The team was 22-29 in early June and the season looked lost. Manager Joe Girardi got fired and was replaced by Rob Thomson, a bench coach who had never managed in the major leagues.

The Phillies thrived under Thomson’s low-key approach, reeling off eight straight wins. Kyle Schwarber, who would have fit in with the Phils’ scruffy 1993 World Series squad, started mashing home runs, and several young players provided an added spark through the summer.

As the champagne flowed in the locker room after the Phillies clinched their playoff spot this week, Bryce Harper gave a nod to the Philly faithful, whose team has only won two World Series in its 139-year history: “This is for the city. This is for the fans.”

Team owner John Middleton said the most important attribute to success is “persistence,” a trait the team and the city share. Then Middleton urged everyone to “enjoy” it. “This doesn’t come around all the time.”

For now, let the good times roll.