Hope Springs Eternal

It is a terrible time in sports currently, with the Super Bowl being over and March Madness still a few long weeks away. It is even worse if you root for Philadelphia teams because there are only two that you can root for and both of them are currently looking for the light switch that will get them out of the cellar of their conferences. That’s right: the Sixers and Flyers are the only salvation for Philadelphia sports fans, and it is no fun to watch your teams lose each and every game. If you want proof, check out the standings for both the Sixers and the Flyers. Even if you combined the win columns for both teams by somehow creating an amalgam of a team, they would still be 10 wins short of first place in the NBA and 7 wins short in the NHL with 30 victories.

Despite the shortage of wins that these two teams have put up, I for one am optimistic about the future of these two teams. Let me explain, and not in that angry, generic Philadelphian griping sort of way.

I am an avid fan of the NCAA Football series for PS2. I have become a pretty good gamer over the years, and I particularly enjoy the Dynasty Mode. This mode permits you to take control of any of the 119 NCAA Div 1-A teams and attempt to build them into a national title contender. Because my skills at this game have improved over the course of time, I ultimately choose to become the head coach of a team that has moderate talent and attempt to build them up by winning games and recruiting talented players.

Why do I choose to do this? Because it is no fun to be hand-fed national titles and #1 recruiting classes by being the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Texas Longhorns. Where’s the fun, let alone the challenge in that? It essentially is a waste of time (and no, this is not to say video games such as this one is a waste of time—va fa Pittsburgh with you if you think so).

The reason for this optimism for the Sixers and Flyers is due to the fact that they now have a chance to build up their respective franchises through their drafts in the coming months. The Sixers currently have three first round picks (thanks to the trade of Allen Iverson) and the Flyers are most likely on the clock as the number one pick in the first round.

I realize Billy King still is in control of the Sixers and can still ruin this franchise with his stupidity, but it is hard to screw up a chance at a top five pick. The Sixers may not be the worst team in the league right now, but the NBA has a lottery system that selects the number one draft pick. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are still within grasp at this point.

Another thing you have to realize about the Sixers right now is that they are young and have been prone to showing that they do have the potential (just not on a consistent basis) to play and win against some of the talented teams in the league. Remember, they did beat Denver and Cleveland a few weeks back.

I also am enjoying how Andre Iguodala (AI 2) has developed. Some experts thought he was a bust, but you have to realize with a system that was centered around Allen Iverson (AI 1), who is prone to shoot more than pass, it is hard to develop young talent into capable scorers. With AI 1 out of the picture, there is a more promise for a balanced attack with players like Kyle Korver and Samuel Dalembert stepping up their game.

As for the Flyers, the NHL draft isn’t quite the spectacle as the NFL or NBA draft. But over the past few years, it is clear that there are talented players out there would can develop within a few years. Sidney Crosby, Eric Staal, and Alex Ovechkin are cases in point. No one really cares about hockey, but I still enjoy keeping an eye on the type of players that the Flyers will be drafting over the next few years to catch up with the new rules of the NHL. Puck-handling defensemen as well as speedy forwards who can play defense are a must now.

It is actually ironic that our ex-GM, Bob Clarke, pushed for the new rules while he actually kept on trading for slow, thuggish defenders who couldn’t score for shit. Now that he is finally out of the picture, the team can try and figure out how to pick up the pieces and start anew. They do have solid young talent in Michael Richards, Jeff Carter, and Joni Pitkanen, but they do not have enough.

It is obviously hard as a Philadelphia sports fan to deal with the fact that a perennial playoff team such as the Flyers has fallen off the face of the earth and the Sixers just haven’t been able to put together a legit playoff run since 2001. I urge those fans to have patience and to wait and what happens in these drafts, even though they are still months away and we have to suffer through these losing seasons before reaping the rewards of both drafts.

And just keep repeating to yourself in the meantime: only 7 more days until pitchers and catchers report for spring training.