Philadelphians Join New Yorkers Everywhere by Yelling: Boston Sucks! Assist from Joe Prez...

Back in 1982, the Sixers and Celtics had the best rivalry in basketball as division rivals who had been two of the best three teams in the league for at least half a decade, and had beat each other up in epic battles since the Russell/Chamberlain days. As expected the two teams clashed in the conference finals for the right to play the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Sixers jumped out to a 3-1 lead and seemed to be on cruise control. Then, however, fortunes changes drastically as the Celts won game 5 in Boston and game 6 in Philly. With the series tied 3-3 and the deciding game in Boston, it looked like the Celts were going to come back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Sixers in 7 games for the second straight season. But, alas, 1982 would be different, and the Sixers rallied for an amazing 14 point win in the Boston Garden.

As the game neared its end and it was clear that the Sixers would advance to the Finals, the Boston fans showed amazing grace and class, chanting "Beat L.A., Beat L.A." to the victorious Sixers. Just an amazing show of what the Boston fans were made of.

25 years later, the two cities are in remarkably different places. Philadelphia has not won a championship in any of the four major sports since 1983, an unbelievably depressing run of failure and misery. We have lost 7 times in the finals since the 1983 Sixers championship (1983 & 1993 Phillies, 1985, 1987, 1997 Flyers, 2001 Sixers and 2004 Eagles (who lost to Boston!)). What's worse, the Flyers were the worst team in the league last year, the Sixers are predicted to be the worst team in the league this year, the Eagles window seems to have closed, and the Phillies will likely never spend the money needed to get over the hump. Boston, meanwhile, has won three Super Bowls and two World Series titles this decade, and even the Celtics are contenders again with three perennial all-stars on their roster. While the Red Sox look set up for a Yankee like run of dominance, the Patriots are looking to not only win 19 straight, but maybe win all 19 by double figures. It is crazy....

My point in all this is that the Philadelphia fans have none of the grace or class that those Boston fans displayed 25 years ago (could this success be karma?). We are bitter that we have won nothing in a generation. We are angry that we have incompetent management and frugal ownership unwilling and/or unable to do the things necessary to win. And we hate the teams and the cities that have success that should be ours. When it all comes together and a city wins as much as Boston has lately, and it is a city with teams that we do not much care for to start, then our hatred and revulsion reaches a whole new level.

This is not a condemnation on myself or my fellow Philly fans. It is just a fact. It is something that could happen to anyone. It is like when Randolph and Mortimer Duke "took a perfectly useless psychopath like Valentine, and turned him into a successful executive. And during the same time, they turned an honest, hard-working man into a violently... deranged, would-be killer!" Bottom line: present a man with enough heartbreak, and losing, and frustration, and he will crumble. If you don't believe me, ask the fans of fellow loser cities like Cleveland and Buffalo what they think...

My buddy Joe Prez is a typical Philadelphia fan. He is a nice, responsible, hard working, kind generous guy, who used to have some good wheels back in the day but Mr. Prez is just like the rest of us, he now hates Boston and its teams. He openly admits that this is being driven by envy as a disgruntled Philly fan.

Prez, when discussing the current state of Boston teams, always has a zinger to help justify, as that makes us all feel a little better: "Their baseball team, although great, has the 2nd highest payroll in MLB and is beating up on a team that pays its players almost $90Million less. They won the Daisuke sweepstakes by spending $51million outbidding both NY teams and Texas just a year after they bought Josh Beckett. Their football team, has the most talent, won 3 of the last 5 SuperBowls, may go undefeated this year on their way to winning yet another SuperBowl and oh yeah - they cheat."

Prez then goes on to create the beginning of what could grow to be an excellent Top XX Reasons Why We Should All Jump on the Anti-Boston Parade right now:
1 - Mr. clean cut Tom Brady dates his girlfriend for 3 years, gets her pregnant and then leaves her to start dating supermodel Giselle (although I’m not sure any of us can blame him for this one).
2 - The NFL tucks it between their legs and destroys all of the tapes
3 - Two words – Randy Moss
4 - Two letters and a word – J D Drew
5 - Ted Kennedy killed his girlfriend and got away with it.
6 – Dirty old man Bob Kraft invites Kate Hudson in to his owner's suite at the Cowboys game. . . I could see Jerry Jones doing that but Bob Kraft – what the hell was that?
7 – Kraft kills trees to serve his paper empire (it’s all about going green now isn’t it?)

I will get the ball rolling on adding to Prez' list and say #8 should read: "When Boston wins, we are all subjected by even more annoying columns from "sportsboy" Bill Simmons at espn.com about how great all his glorious teams are." Does Bill even care that he has lost his edge, his writing is not nearly what is was 5+ years ago, and that is wife now writes more interesting stuff than he does?

And as it normally does with Philly fans, Prez takes it one step further, urging "the Eagles to put calls in to Buddy Ryan asking come him to come back and coach the team in Week 12 while Andy Reid takes his sons to jail (sentencing day is Nov 1 for both of them). Assuming the Birds are out of the playoff hunt by then (as if they aren’t yet), it might be interesting to let Dawkins and company inflict what damage they can on the Pats playoff health."

Some people might indict him as a bitter, angry, mean-spirited Philadelphia fan whose priorities are way out of line. I would respond to these people by tell them Mr. Prez is a fine example of a true passionate Philadelphia fan who would never, ever chant "Beat LA" to any Boston team.