Philadelphia Flyers Slipping in City Popularity
By Wes Herrmann
With the Phillies signing Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Flyers have firmly taken the back seat in popularity in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl last year. The Sixers have trusted the process and are starting to see the dividends and the Phillies are the latest Philly team to make headlines by landing coveted free agent Bryce Harper.
Meanwhile, in the city’s other biggest sport, the Philadelphia Flyers are about to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in seven seasons. This season wasn’t supposed to go this way. The Flyers were supposed to be pulling out of a retool and entering a contending stage. Their mascot has been one of the few bright spots
Instead, former general manager Ron Hextall’s plan to build through the draft cost him his job in November and their mascot was maybe the only bright spot in the first half of the season (though Gritty has crossed many social circles). Chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectator Dave Scott admitted at the ensuing press conference for Hextall’s firing that attendance at the Wells Fargo Center could be better. He implied that losing games wasn’t helping.
Now that the Phillies are set up to not lose as many games as they have over the past three seasons, the Flyers could be affected even more. Sure, the seasons largely take place at different times but instead of preparing for a playoff run this spring, Philly fans will look toward the introduction of Harper. The fall, fans should be preparing for a Phillies postseason instead of getting excited about the return of the Flyers.
The Sixers have already cut into Flyers’ focus in the past two seasons and the organization has to be scared that the Phillies will add just another interest above them in the city. For example, Turning on sports radio in Philadelphia as a hockey fan is already a useless venture.
But there’s some good news for the Flyers and their fans wanting the team to gain more attention. A few of the beat writers think this will be a big summer for the team:
I know at the moment, it seems like the Flyers are by far the least interesting of the 4 Philly sports teams. But I'll say this -- everything I've heard over the last few months leads me to believe that they're going to look to make some big additions this summer.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) March 1, 2019
Hang in there, Jeff. This team will make some major moves this summer. https://t.co/L5tZ2T1Pef
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) March 1, 2019
Agree on all counts and have heard the same. The spending is more making a push for the remaining core group and with new pieces like Hart as opposed to keeping up with the Phillies/Eagles/Sixers. https://t.co/ThEw2EyF09
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) March 1, 2019
Even though Dave Isaac said the purpose isn’t to match the other teams in the city, you can argue it’s still related. The other teams have seen a lot of success, while the Flyers have floundered. Getting back as a winning team will only raise the Flyers’ profile and put them back on a level similar to the other Philadelphia teams.
This summer has to be huge for the Flyers or else their own winning issues — or lack thereof — will continue to drag down their popularity in Philadelphia.
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