Dear Some Flyers Fans
Dear Some Flyers Fans,
The Flyers are back and so am I and there are thousands like me. You Flyers “diehards” who are pissed about the “bandwagon” jumping can go pound sand. While I admire the dedication and passion of the fans—enablers—who kept their season tickets or made every game for the past twenty years can’t miss television, stop whining about people liking the Flyers when they’re finally showing legitimate life.
When people are stuck in a circle of self-sabotage there are often two ways to cope either by being an enabler or to disengage until something changes. Over the past twenty years of mediocrity and ineptitude, a large portion of Philly fans decided to disengage and with good reason. If you stayed the course, more power to you but know that you are part of the reason why it took so damn long. You are an enabler and part of the problem because the Flyers knew that no matter how inept the front office acted you would always be there spending your time and money on them.
I say this with an admiration for your passion and also as an enabler. I, too, am an enabler. I’m a Phillies enabler. I’ve had season tickets for the better part of two decades. I remained with the likes of Robert Person and Kevin Millwood being the Opening Day starters. And, I stayed when the outfield consisted of Ben Revere, Dom Brown, and Marlon Byrd. The thing is when the Phillies became legit in 2007, I wasn’t complaining about all the front runners who started showing up at the ballpark jamming up beer and urinal lines. I embraced their energy and interest.
You know how lame the 2008 World Series parade would’ve been if it was only “diehard” Phillies fans who were excited in 2006 about a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Dodgers named Shane Victorino. That would’ve been the lamest parade ever. Do you really want to be at a Stanley Cup Parade solely with 40,000 people squeezed into their old Ilksa Sinisalo and Brad Marsh jerseys? Of course not. That party would blow.
Me and many folks like me never went anywhere. We’ve never cheered for another team unless I had made a one-off gambling investment. We just couldn’t stand watching the continual self-sabotaging of the Flyers’ long-term future for a fleeting moment of relevancy. We couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the repeated self-harm that Mr. Snyder, Bob Clarke, and Paul Holmgren inflicted upon the franchise due to their inability to see any further than the end of a current season. We also couldn’t bear the frustration we put ourselves through year after year while the Flyers repeatedly disappointed.
Tough love is sometimes needed—almost like an intervention. A large portion of Philadelphia Flyers fans needed to step back, to spend their money and time elsewhere on more relevant sporting outlets. The reality is, with the exception of 2010, the Flyers have not been true contenders since the days of Lindros and he left town in 2000.
That run in 2010 never really felt real. Sure the Boston series was exciting, but who seriously believed that with Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton as the goaltenders they would beat the Chicago Blackhawks to win their first Stanley Cup in over thirty years?
It’s not that we haven’t cared for the past decade or so. We still paid attention, more so once Mr. Snyder passed, Bobby Clarke “retired”, and Paul Holmgren ceased being General Manager. We watched the drafting of Carter Hart. We admired the methodical patience that Ron Hextall exuded in rebuilding a desolate farm system. We knew this year was the beginning of the future as salary cap relief would finally appear after the disastrous contracts and trades that Paul Holmgren made.
The truth is we had more relevant teams to give our money and attention. The Phillies won a World Series and the Eagles won a Super Bowl while the Flyers organization simply existed toward the bottom of the league.
What about the Sixers you say? They haven’t won since 1983 and have been stuck in mediocrity for the majority of the past thirty years you say. You’re not wrong. You’re just in denial that basketball is a far more popular sport. It’s more accessible to people. All you need is a ball. You can play by yourself.
If you’re upset about hockey not being as popular as basketball shift that frustration to the NHL, Gary Bettman, and the networks. They haven’t done enough to make hockey popular, particularly in the inner cities. Back in the day, the NHL also used to have Peter Puck. He was a cartoon puck that aired during NBC’s Hockey Game of the Week that taught kids the rules of the game.
Don’t get mad at me and people like me coming back because the Flyers have proven themselves to be heading in the right direction thanks to the drafting skills of Ron Hextall and the recent moves of Chuck Fletcher. A new plan or direction is all we’ve ever asked for. It just took forty years to make it happen.
You can’t complain about people not interested in the Flyers and then about people being interested in the Flyers. Well, you can but you sound like a total dolt.
The Flyers are going for ten wins in a row tonight. A Flyers win tonight puts them in first place. I am excited. The city is excited. The Flyers are going to be legitimately competitive for the foreseeable future.
The Flyers are finally back and the “bandwagon” is filling up with thousands like me. Deal with it. When the Flyers have a parade in the next five years, you’ll be glad we’re there with you because it’ll be one hell of a party.
Go Flyers! Let’s hope they score at least four touchdowns tonight!