Rough Decade Behind Us

I know that it's well into the new decade of 2010 on, but I wanted to take a moment and review the past decade from 2000-2009. For the most part, it was a rough decade for Philly sports as the Phillies were the only team to come away with a championship. A lot of teams got close but it was ultimately a disappointing time filled with much heartbreak and hard to swallow playoff exits. Here is a run down of what each team did, and also what to expect in the coming years.

Phillies: In the early part of the decade it was the Larry Bowa show for the Phillies. As manager, Bowa guided the Phillies to mediocre seasons failing to reach the postseason every year. In 2004, Bowa's final year as manager, the Phils moved into the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park where a new era would begin. The following year, the Phils hired Charlie Manuel as manager primarily because of his relationship with then star first baseman Jim Thome. Manuel took the reigns as ma

nager in 2005 and never looked back. After failing to reach the playoffs in his first two seasons, the Phils won the NL East in 2007 but eventually lost in the opening round. But in 2008, the Philadelphia championship drought finally came to an end. The Phils again won the NL East and led by star pitcher Cole Hamels, the Phils cruised through the playoffs and eventually beat the Tampa Bay Rays in 5 games to win the World Series. The Phillies paraded down Broad Street and finally gave this city a well deserved title. The Phils would reach the World Series again in 2009 but would go on to lose to the New York Yankees.

Last year the Phils lost to San Francisco in the NLCS, but this year looks very promising. The Phils are far and away the best team in baseball and look poised to make another very long post season run. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels lead a starting rotation that no team can compete with.

Beyond this year, I see the Phils as having a legitimate chance to win another title for at least 3 years. Providing they lock up Cole Hamels, the Phils will still have a great starting rotation with Hamels, Halladay, and Lee. And with core guys Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Hunter Pence locked up, I believe the Phils can stay contenders.

Eagles: Previous to the beginning of the decade, in 1999 the Eagles hired Andy Reid as head coach, and drafted Donovan McNabb as the franchis quarterback of the future. In 2000 the Eagles put together an 11-5 record but would eventually lose to the Giants in the division series. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, the Eagles went 11-5, 12-4, and 12-4 respectively but lost in the NFC Championship game every year. Finally in 2004, the Eagles defeated Mike Vick and the Atlanta Falcons and headed to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history. But again the Eagles came up short and lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots by a final of 24-21. After the Super Bowl defeat, McNabb really came under fire of the Philadelphia media and fans. As the starting quarterback in a major city it was understandable that people were quick to blame McNabb for the team's shortcomings.

The following year the Eagles went 6-10 and failed to even reach the playoffs. Hampered by injuries especially to McNabb, the Eagles put up their first and only losing season in the Andy Reid era. 2006 was better remembered as Jeff Garcia year. Dononvan again went down with a devastating injury 10 games into the season, and Jeff Garcia took over as starter. Garcia finished out the year with flare as the Eagles won 5 of their last 6 games to put them at 10-6 on the year enough to win the NFC East. Unfortunately the Birds would lose to the Saints in the division round.

In 2007, the Eagles went 8-8, but followed in 2008 with a respectable 9-6 record. The Eagles would eventually reach the NFC Championship game for the 5th time under Andy Reid but would lose to Kurt Warner and the high powered Arizona Cardinals offense. 2009 was Donovan's final year as an Eagle and the Birds took an early playoff exit losing to the Dallas Cowboys.

Last year Kevin Kolb went down in the first game of the season, and Mike Vick ushered in a new era of Eagles football. Vick put together a dazzling season but the Eagles lost to the eventual champions, the Green Bay Packers in the opening round.

Looking ahead to this year and the future, the Eagles will be lead by Mike Vick and a high powered offense stocked with weapons like Lesean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Desean Jackson, and Brent Celek. The young fast defense led by newcomer Nnamdi Asomugha will hopefully be an improvement to the Sean McDermott defenses of the past. The Eagles made a big splash in free agency this year and are primed for a Super Bowl run this year and for years to come.

Flyers: Although the Flyers made the playoffs every year but one, the past decade was ultimately a disappointment. The Flyers led off the decade by losing in the conference finals to the New Jersey Devils. From there the Flyers continued to make the playoffs but didn't make it back to the conference finals until 2003-04 where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.

2006-07 was a bit of a transition year for the Flyers as they fired head coach Ken Hitchcock and hired John Stevens as his replacement. But for the first time in 11 years the Flyers failed to reach the postseason. The following season, the Flyers bounced back but again suffered a loss in the conference finals, this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But after a first round exit in 2009, the Flyers finally got over the hump in 2010 and reached the Stanley Cup in a very memorable playoff run. Down 3 games to none to the Boston Bruins in the conference semi-finals, the Flyers rallied and eventually won the series in seven games. They then cruised past the Montreal Canadiens in the conference finals, but eventually lost to the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup.

And last year the Flyers lost to the Boston Bruins in the conference semi-finals in another heart breaking playoff exit. The Flyers haven't won a Stanley Cup in 35 seasons, and for a storied franchise like the Flyers that is simply too long of a drought. So this past off season the Flyers brass went all in and restructured the entire make up of the team. They traded away stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter and signed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. For the first time in a long time the Flyers will have an elite goalie and hopefully the drastic moves they made will pay off.

Sixers: The past decade for the Sixers can best be described by breaking it down into four main periods: The Larry Brown era, The post Brown transition era, The Mo Cheeks era, and the Mo Cheeks transition era. The Larry Brown era was in the beginning of the decade and included the Sixers magical run to the finals in 2001. Led by Allen Iverson and role players Dikembe Mutombo, Eric Snow, and Aaron McKie, the Sixers captivated Philadelphia and went toe to toe with one of the best teams in NBA history. Unfortunately the Sixers lost in five games to the Kobe and the Lakers, but they still gave this city some very fond basketball memories.

After Larry Brown left in 2003, the Sixers tried to find a suitable replacement at head coach. Randy Ayers took over in 2003-04, and Chris Ford finished out the year. In 2004-05, the Sixers hired Jim O'Brien but lost in the first round of the playoffs. In 2005-06, the Sixers decided to hire former star point guard Mo Cheeks. During Cheeks' first three years, the Sixers made the playoffs just once. And midway through his fourth year as head coach, the Sixers fired Cheeks and hired Tony Dileo as interim head coach. And in 2009-10 the Sixers made the awful mistake of hiring Eddie Jordan and the Sixers went just 27-55.

But last year the Sixers finally looked headed in the right direction under head coach Doug Collins. Unfortunately the Sixers lost to the Miami Heat in the first round, but they still showed glimpses of promise in the post season and through out the regular season. But with the lockout set to go on for an unprecedented amount of time, the Sixers youthful progress could be put to a sudden halt. Overall the lockout will be extremely detrimental to a young and developing team like the Sixers and there is no telling how it could affect them in the future.

If you've been keeping count, Philadelphia teams went 1/5 in championships in the past decade. The Eagles, Flyers, and Sixers all lost their respective championships, and the Phils went 1/2, winning in 2008 and losing in 2009. The Phillies success in 2008 helps to soothe the pain that Philadelphia batted .200 in championship games during the past decade not to mention countless other playoff exits.

It was a rough decade but thankfully the future of Philly sports looks very bright. The Flyers, Eagles, and Phillies will all look to contend for a championship this year which is something that hasn't happened in this city in a very long time. Hopefully this decade which has gotten off to somewhat of a rough beginning will turn around come October.