Whether or not you were as fortunate as I was to witness all three games or if you had the opportunity to at least see one, you would understand that Sunday was absolutely phenomenal.
Mike said it best in a text message he sent to me earlier: "Best day in philadelphia sports since october 29 2008" Even though he did not include the Phillies Parade in that text, he couldn't be more right.
First, the Phillies after being down 4-0 again because Chan Ho Suck stunk up the place, they came back like THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO DO and won 5-4 on a Raul Ibanez walk-0ff two run home run in the bottom of the ninth. Now, since I'm in Ithaca, I watch the Phillies games on my computer on MLB.TV. So, I had the Phillies game on the same time as the Flyers game on my television.
As far as the Orange and Black go...OH MY GOODNESS! That is by far the best game I have seen them play all season. They came out with intensity. They came out with a chip on their shoulder. They took no prisoners. Not to mention, the fans were top notch. Even though at this point we should stop bringing it up, I think the importance of getting home ice advantage before the playoffs started was pretty important. None the less, the Orange and Black need to take each game, minute and possession one at a time to tie this series up and go back to Pittsburgh with a lot of momentum.
So, after Ibanez hit that homer (which I went so nuts for that one of my neighbors had to tell me to be quiet), the Flyers dominated their way to a Game 3 victory. Very exciting.
Then came the 76ers—the team that it seems like I'm the only one who believes in them. They stuck with the favored Magic in the first half, but fell way behind in the third quarter. They were down by as many as 13 points. Now, this team may not be the most talented 76ers team of all-time. They may be extremely streaky shooters. But, they have heart and in a town that prides itself on scrappiness and determination, the Philadelphia 76ers surely have that and they proved it in a Game 1 upset victory. Quite frankly though, they stole that game. They have to play much better and consistent to win Game 2.
Still, how about Andre Iguodala at the end of the game. I got sooooo mad when he missed those free throws that I texted a friend of mind who was watching the game and said: "Did i mention i hate iguo-f*** up?"
Well, Iguodala came through in the end with a nice jumper. Even though Iguodala hit the game winning shot with 2.2 seconds left in the game, I think the story was my man Donyell Marshall. The guy may be as old as Jamie Moyer (well...no professional athlete is as old as Jamie Moyer), but dog gonnit he can shoot. DOWNTOWN DONNY is what we should start calling this guy. Give him the ball so he can load up, fire and drain those threes.
Oh man April 19, 2009 was a great day in Philadelphia sports. I think we can all agree this past week has been extremely painful. Watching and listening to Phillies game are not the same. And even though the pain will stick forever, Sunday's success numbed it down a little bit. I'm sure HK was smiling from above, making one heck of a call for Ibanez and giddy about the fact the Flyers and 76ers won too, making Philly fans extremely happy.
Sunday was the one year anniversary of the sad and unexpected passing of John "Johnny Marz" Marzano. As Johnny Marz always said, he was a BIG Philadelphia sports fan. You know he had a big grin on his face Sunday.
So, mark it down in your journals, calendars, notebooks or whatever. And the reason is, Sunday, April 19, 2009 will always go down as a TRI-FECTA for out beloved teams that sport the first name of PHILADELPHIA.
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