Don't be mistaken—the Eagles will always rule the day, whether it's now or 50 years down the line. Philadelphia eats, breathes and dreams about football, especially their beloved Eagles.
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Except, those dawning green and white are causing more agita than adulation these days because of their awful play. Thus, it's a prime opportunity for the other three teams, and four if you count the playoff advancing Union, to capitalize on some of the fan base's attention, especially this week.
The Phillies can make a lot of people happy by hiring a new manager whose initials are J.G. And no, not Joe Giglio—although WIP's Evening Host would do cart wheels down Broad Street if the Phils landed former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi.
The Flyers did their job and put a smile on peoples' faces by cruising by the Golden Knights Monday.
Then, there's your 10-9-8 76ers, who are currently the only team worthy of being in the championship contending conversation in this city. They start their 82-plus game journey Wednesday night at the recently renovated Wells Fargo Center.
"You just go by the clock, the feel, the weather and it's basketball," Brett Brown said two days before opening night. "I know it internally. I do feel it. I understand the rhythm of the 12 months, and it's time to get going."
Brown is entering his seventh season as Sixers head coach. Who took the over on that three, four years ago? Spend that money on a decent seat Wednesday night when the rival Celtics invade South Philadelphia.
While I didn't count exactly how many Tweets like these I saw, there were definitely more than one expressing anticipation for 76ers season as the Cowboys were embarrassing the Eagles on National Television Sunday night.
True, Twitter is not the "be all, say all" when it comes to informal polling. But, it's impossible to argue against the reality that Philadelphia is stoked to see Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and the rest of the revamped Sixers officially take the court for the first time in the 2019-20 season.
Brown certainly sense the anticipation.
"I've lived a privileged life here in Philadelphia. It's been very different," Brown said. "Everyone of our periods together has been very different. It's an incremental increase in talent and with that comes expectation and privilege and responsibility and it's going."
"I'm ready to start," Simmons said with a smile after Monday's practice. "This is killing me. I'm ready to go."
Simmons' continued development is crucial to the 76ers success. But, the end all-be all starts and finishes with No. 21. You saw it last season in the playoffs—if Embiid isn't dominant, the Sixers have trouble beating the best in the East.
"I think he's gonna have a year that puts us in a position to win a championship," Brown said of Embiid. "We all understand, and I've this publicly, I wanna help him define his legacy. I feel a tremendous responsibility to help him define his legacy, and legacies start with championships."
And Brown sees Embiid making an impact this season in many facets, even if the center wants to do most of his work in the post.
"When you look at him, he is a unicorn," Brown said. "When we say like, 'who is Joel Embiid like?' Or, 'who is like Joel Embiid?' Joel can score in a variety of ways. And so, is he Shaq? He got a little bit of that in him. Is he Arvydas Sabonis? That was a pretty multi-dimensional player. Is he Hakeem (Olajuwon)? (Tim) Duncan was a good low-post player and could step out like at the elbow or foul line and make a jump shot.
"So, when you start like trying to put him in a box and say this is all you are, it's a huge naive mistake. It's a really naive mistake. Where is he at his best? We get where it is. And like we have to center our gravity more in that area of where it is. I think it's gonna equal free throws and kick outs and all of that. But, to think that's the only floor spot he lives is really recklessly naive…And so it's on me, as his coach, and on him to better understand, 'how do I best impact the game, help this team win championships, take off like I wanna take off at the start of the year?' And I think that we're on it. I think that we're on it."
Wednesday night can't come soon enough.
