March 19, 2022
It's impossible to compare teams across eras.
The rules change. The quality of the athletes change due to technology, science, training techniques and so on.
The styles change. The 3-point line has only been around since 1979. The spread offense didn't exist a few decades ago.
But who cares. Let's do it anyway.
In the spirit of March Madness, we compiled a 40-team bracket. Managing sports editor Evan Macy, deputy sports editor Shamus Clancy and staff writer Nick Tricome ranked the 40 teams you see in the bracket below and we took the average of the three seedings to create the seedings we will use for this exercise.
coming this week on @thephillyvoice: pic.twitter.com/unti3yYnG7
— shamus (@shamus_clancy) March 15, 2022
How should you vote? Is it for your favorite of the two teams matched up? Which you think is better? Which you think would win a head to head match (if it were possible)? That's entirely up to you.
Today, we'll break down the matchups in our Bernie Regional in the Round of 32. We previously went through our Dr. J Regional, which you can check out here. And you can vote in our Schmidty regional here.
Below we'll give you some facts on each team, and some thoughts on what we think of them. And then it's up to you to help us crown the best team in Philadelphia sports history.
Without further ado:
Nick says: "The Broad Street Bullies" is an apt nickname, but it wasn't just that this Flyers team was tough, they were straight up good, game-changing even. They had four players put up at least 32 goals, led by Bobby Clarke's 35, and Bernie Parent in goal, who had an incredible .932 save percentage for a share of the Vezina Trophy (Only the Lord saves more). There was also Fred Shero behind the bench, whose coaching style gave the rest of the league fits. This team played a different brand of hockey, and didn't just award them with the Stanley Cup in the end, it changed the NHL forever.
VS.
Nick says: As far as a Villanova team had gone since winning the whole thing in 1985. A No. 3 seed out the East, they played a furious second half against American to put upset aspirations to bed, cruised past No. 6 ULCA, destroyed No. 2 Duke in the Sweet 16, then battled No. 1 Pitt to the very last second, with Scottie Reynolds making the game-winning layup through contact. North Carolina sent the Wildcats home in the Final Four, but there was no reason to hang their heads after that kind of run.
Time to vote:
Shamus says: The Warriors, then the NBA’s lone Philly franchise, had the league’s best record by six games and won the title in just a five-game series. They deployed three Hall of Famers in Neil Johnston, Paul Arizin and Tom Gola, the latter two being lifelong Philly hoops legends. Do I know how these guys really played? No. Can I respect a team that’s cut from a basketball history tapestry as rich as Philadelphia’s? Of course.
VS.
Evan says: The Phillies were supposed to go back-to-back, and as a college student watching every pitch on the edge of his seat (with a Yankees fan girlfriend at the time), the World Series was excruciating. It was a series the Phillies had the offensive firepower to win, and it was also the series that the front office used to change their focus from hitting the long ball to bringing in starting pitching. The 2009 Phils hit 224 homers, a franchise record and were also under the radar the fourth best defensive team in team history.
Time to vote:
Evan says: This is probably the best Eagles team not to have won a title, as their best players were at the height of their powers. McNabb, Owens and Westbrook were an unstoppable trio, Dawkins and Lito Sheppard manned a potent secondary and the team ranked in the top 10 in ever offensive and defensive category. If not for the P*triots spy-gate scandal, who knows what would have happened in a Super Bowl notorious for a nervous McNabb.
VS.
Evan says:
This was a legendary team as I was growing up and despite the fact that the Phillies have gotten the monkey off their backs in 2008, it remains a legendary squad. In addition to Daulton and Dykstra, John Kruk, Curt Schilling and a bevy of other household names roamed Veterans Stadium in 1993 as the Phils nearly pulled off a world championship before faltering in dramatic fashion.
Time to vote:
Nick says: Maybe the last truly great Flyers team, and one that just would not die. Their playoff hopes came down to a shootout on the last day of the season, one save even. Brian Boucher made it. Surely the two-seeded Devils would be as far as they go, right? They're just lucky to be there. The Flyers won in five games. Down 3-0 to Boston, this is where they bow out, right? Just don't get swept. And then they won to stay alive... and then they did it again and again, and for good measure, climbed back from a 3-0 hole in Game 7 to complete the 3-0 series comeback (the third time that's ever happened in NHL history by that point). By the time this team got to the conference finals, you just knew Montreal, wasn't a problem. This team was playing for the Stanley Cup. They gave Chicago a fight too, but the magic ran out just too soon. Still, what a run.
VS.
Evan says: I am biased. When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008 I was starting my junior year at Temple. I jogged all the way down Broad Street from Cecil B. Moore to City Hall and bedlam followed us as we closed in on the celebration in the city's epicenter. It was epic. It was probably the best day of my life (aside from marrying my wife and having my daughter). Chase Utley and the rest of the 2008 Phillies are gods in this city, and their home run mashing style is one the team is still trying to replicate.
Time to vote:
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