Philadelphianeeds a champion

assistant news editor

Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, home of the heese steak, the Liberty Bell, four winning championship pro sports teams. Wait a minute, championship? I don't ihink so.

Why is it that Philadelphia, a large market city and great sports town, has been unable to produce any championship ams for practically the past two decades?

Is it the players-?Owners? Facilities? Not enough money?

First of all, let's take the 76ers. For most of the past 20 ears, this team has been down at the bottom of the standgs in the NBA. However, under the presidency of Pat roce and acquisitions of such players like Allen Iverson, eo Ratliff and Matt Geiger, the team is definitely imroving and is on the road to success. The team is still oung, however, and it will take a few years for them to nature into a championship team. Look for the Sixers in e next few years to be Philly's hottest team. Let's move on to those boys of summer, the Phillies. With he exception of 1993, the Phillies have been the victims of ckluster play, poor pitching and injury-ridden seasons. hey have the young players in rookie of the year Scott

Rolen and Gold Glove winner Mike Lieberthal, but are relying too heavily on staff ace, Curt Schilling. Face it, this team has years to go until even thinking about being close to the World Series, and Schilling will not be around forever. Also, the stadium issue is hurting the Phillies. They need a new stadium badly, and without it they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.

Now, the Eagles. Well, what can we say about the Eagles except to just keep praying. While on their way to one of their worst records in franchise history, the Eagles are in major need of a face-lift. Like the Phillies, the Eagles need a new stadium. ff a deal is not settled in the near future, the Eagles could possibly threaten to leave Philadelphia. The best thing for the Eagles is to start with a clean slate. My best advice, keep Donovan McNabb. For now, the only thing they can continue to do is to be the butt of jokes on Monday mornings.

Finally, and probably our best chance for a championship in the near future, the orange and black, the Flyers. Ever since the notorious trade for captain Eric Lindros back in 1992, the Flyers have been promising Philly a Stanley Cup. Seven years later, I still haven't seen that parade down Broad Street. Every year, down at the First Union Center, the Flyers have had success during the regular sea- son, but seem to fall during the playoffs. Only once, in 1997, have we seen the Flyers make it as far as the Finals. Although the Flyers are enjoying success so far this season, this could be the last that the nucleus of the team in Eric Lindros, John LeClair, Rod Brind' Amour and Eric Desjardins are together. So for Philly's sake, let's hope this team plays with more emotion than ever before. It could be their last chance to drink from the Cup. My suggestion: get a new general manager.

Now that I've analyzed all of Philly's teams, I guess the only thing for us fans to do is sit back and wait. As we enter the new millennium, the teams of the century lists are being made. I haven't seen any Philly teams on the lists except possibly on a worst team list.

Sometimes it's hard to be a Philadelphia sports fan. The losses, the trades, the injuries. But these things are all what makes a team a team. So, since I've always been a Philly sports fan, I'll continue to stick by my teams until we've reached that ultimate goal of a championship. Hey, it can't take until next millennium. Can it?