Philadelphia Sports Curse

The horror that comes with being a Phillies fan is known not just to members of my generation, but to my father’s, grandfather’s, great-granfathers, and great-great grandfather’s.  The franchise had a World Series drought that lasted 97 years- from 1887 to 1980.  They have lost more games than any professional team in any sport, and will makr a milestone by losing their 10,000th game this coming season.  Think about that: in a sport with a 162-game season, to lose 100 games in a year is to stink miserably.  Imagine AVERAGING that level of futility for a HUNDRED DIFFERENT SEASONS!!! This team is truly disgraceful.

During that sad stretch the most notable heartbreak took place in 1964.  Known as “The Phold,” the Phillies blew a 6.5 game lead with just 12 games remaining.  Their 10-game losing streak is one of the most memorable collapses in sports history.

After winning the World Series in 1980 (oddly enough, the year I was born), the team has produced nothing for me but pain, heartache, and embarrassment.  An amazing run to the World Series in 1993 ended horribly with Joe Carter’s game-winning, 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 6. 

In each of the last five seasons, the team has been alive for a playoff berth until the final week of the season but has not played a single playoff game since 1993, despite a new stadium and aggressive spending on free agents.

If I weren’t so jaded, I’d write a paragraph about our young superstar Ryan Howard, who won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award this season.  I’d speculate about a bright future with him as our leader.

But I know better than to do that.  The more I get my hopes up, the more it hurts.