Philadelphia can’t stop winning championships
By Josh Hill
The city of Philadelphia simply cannot stop winning championships, and will soon take over the world.
Remember this night as the one where the City of Brotherly Love became the City of Champions. For the second time in two months, Philly will play host to a championship parade — this time for the Villanova Wildcats.
A month ago, the streets of Philadelphia were lined with fans celebrating the Eagles win in Super Bowl 52. For a city that my co-worker Matt Verderame has more than once called “a hole”, that’s a lot of sports joy.
In fact, it’s never-before-seen joy; Never before has a Super Bowl-winning city also produced a basketball national champion. Now you can use that to win a trivia night sometime, which means it’s a joy that also keeps on giving.
Context is important in really appreciating how monumental this is for Philly. Before the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year, Villanova was the only thing sports fans could be happy about. It was a city suffering championship draughts in every major sport other than baseball. Even then, it had been a decade since the Phillies won the World Series; Flyers fans are now a generation removed from the last Stanley Cup and the Eagles hadn’t won in over a half-century.
All of that has led to a cathartic release of tension. Few fan bases are lucky enough to enjoy a championship experience, but Philly fans are chasing a Super Bowl with a National Championship.
If only the 76ers can do the impossible and win a championship to keep this party train rolling deep into the night. It sounds crazy, but Philadelphia fans are kind of making it their thing to defy the odds.
Trust that process.