Having Phun in Philly

As a self-professed Philly hater, this seems like an awkward topic for me to write about. It is phinally good to be a Philadelphia phan now though. The Phlyers are coming off a season in which they remarkably survived until overtime in game seven off the Stanley Cup Phinals. The Phillies are good, as usual. The Eagles are a highly discussed team in what is looking like a weak division. And the 76ers...errr...well three out of phour ain't bad, right?

The Phillies are looking to make their 3rd straight World Series appearance, emerging as the team to beat in the NL. The Cincinnati Reds may be the only team that can topple them. The Phils are making easy work of their divisional rival, Atlanta Braves, my choice to win the division. Thanks guys. The Phillies have what the Braves and San Fransisco Giants lack, a decent lineup. It may have taken all season, but the Phillies have put it all together when it really matters. They were hurt by injuries in the dog days, but stayed close, and now, led by their pitching, the Phils are going strong into the postseason.

The Eagles are currently the most talked about team in the NFL. More talked about than the Jets, who can always bring chatter when Braylon Edwards, Darrell Revis, or Rex Ryan's names are brought up. The Eagles are currently controversial because of their quarterback. First it was Kevin Kolb, now it's Michael Vick, and then it will be...? Kolb, their quarterback to replace Donovan McNabb, showed little greatness in preseason (which doesn't count) and in the half game he played this season (not enough time to judge).

Vick showed against the Detroit Lions (not a good team) that he can play like he used to. In his prime, Vick was the best athlete on the field. There was no competition. He may not have been the best QB, but he overcame that with his talent. Andy Reid was definitely wrong to name Vick as their starting QB after just 1.5 games played. To give up and possibly trade Kolb now seems to phanatical. What if Vick drops back to reality, and plays horribly against better teams (not the Lions or Jaguars)? What if he gets concussed given the offensive line issues? The Eagles would be finishing where I picked them to, at the bottom. (Based on the Skins improvement, the Cowboys string of good seasons, the Giants rebounding, and the Eagles rebuilding. OK, and yes, a tad bit of bias.)

So while I can't stand the phact that the Philly phans have a chance to cheer and not live in phutility as they had phrom 1980-2008. Two World Series appearances, one Super Bowl berth, and one Stanley Cup showing this decade prove that Philadelphia is a sports city to be reckoned with. Still not on the level of New York City and Boston (ugh), but growing stronger by the year, Philly is and will be the target of my sports animosity. That is until Boston decides to pull another comeback down 3-0.