Philly is Winning Championships; You Just Didn’t Know It
Philly’s Sports Teams Are Still Bringing Home the Brass.
Philly Sports NEVER stops winning. It’s true.
Sure, the Eagles were looking to do anything in Tampa in January besides playing in a playoff game; the Sixers lost to some of Jay Wright’s finest Villanova talent, the Phillies didn’t hit last year in September, and the Flyers are, well…
But Philly is always a winner.
You just didn’t know it.
Let’s start out with one of Benjamin Franklin’s favorite places, the Schuylkill River. This year, Drexel Mens Rowing won the Dad Vail Regatta, which has been replaced on the Cooper River in Camden. One week later, in the 97th running of the Stotesbury Regatta, St. Joe’s Prep Rowing won the day with the most medals.
This week, in the Philadelphia suburbs, Newtown welcomed home the Council Rock Newtown Little League Team, which not only took us along for a magical run in the 2024 Little League World Series but also captured some titles of their own. The team not only had an incredible run in the LLWS but was also a Mid-Atlantic champion.
In July, Philadelphia fighter Jarrod Ennis captured the IBF Welterweight Title again in 2024 in five rounds. Ennis also won the Title in 2023. The Philadelphia native has won 31 fights, 28 by KO.
Firsts in sports are always the sweetest. For Miseracordia Baseball, it’s not been a while since the first D3 Baseball Championship. This week was the first. First-time NCAA D3 World Series Champions, that is. This spring, Misericordia (seeded #5) defeated #4 Pomona-Pitzer in the first round, #8 seed Lynchburg, and #1 seed Endicott, and then finally won the best-of-three-game series against Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Last month, the Kutztown DII Women’s Field Hockey Team was among 90 NCAA Teams honored by Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House. Kutzdown defeated Stroudsburg to win the title earlier in the year.
Before the Arena League, Philadelphia Soul was dissolved in 2019, and they were brought back to Camden this year only to see that canceled—they won three championships while in the City in 2008, 2016, and 2017.
The physicality of Lacrosse is another perfect fit for Philly. In three different versions of the Philadelphia Wings since 1974, the NLL team won six championships (1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001). The Wings have played at the Wells Fargo Center since 2018.
But what has Philadelphia done to win the highest athletic honor lately?
With growing enrollment and expanding teams, women’s flag football is currently being considered an official PIAA Sport. Last spring, the Abington Girls Flag Football Team won the Eagles Girls Flag Football League presented by Planet Fitness.
In this year’s Olympics — the 2024 Games in Paris — a son of Philadelphia took a gold medal to the rousing applause and accolades from thousands of fans in a style worthy of the games of ancient Greece. Justin Best- who, while at Drexel University, competed for the US National U23 — and whose Drexel Rowing Teams won the Dad Vail Regatta team title in all four years that he was enrolled and got an opportunity to stand on that Olympic Podium. In 2024, he joined Sixer’s star Joel Embiid, who also took gold with the US men’s Basketball team in Paris.
So while you wait for the Eagles, Sixers, Flyers, and Phillies to once again celebrate down Broad Street — look around the other Philadelphia athletes and teams who are at the peak of sports.
From Little League to the Boxing Ring to NCAA athletic excellence, Philly is always a winner and, most of the time, a champion.
Just the way Dr. Franklin imagined it.
PHOTO: Philadelphia Phillies/Facebook
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