Fansided

The Next Chapter

By Jacob Modugno |
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 15: A general view during a game between the Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on October 15, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 15: A general view during a game between the Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on October 15, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Philadelphia Flyers hockey has ushered in a new era. The 2021 offseason saw a flurry of roster turnover and plenty of changes that not many would’ve anticipated at the beginning of last season. But it is the dawn of a new day in South Philadelphia, and I’m glad I got to experience it before I turn a new leaf, much as the Flyers have.

This weekend I partook in my first ever home-opening Flyers game. I’d been to five Flyers games before this, but all were mid or late season matchups. The excitement was something I haven’t experienced at Wells Fargo Center in a long time. You could feel the energy in the air hours before puck drop. This was the first full-capacity crowd at the arena since March 2020, and the city and team were primed for a big night with all eyes on 3601 South Broad Street.

The build-up to Opening Night was something fans had been anticipating for months. Plenty of new faces and the first taste of a fresh team in the preseason gave people that sense of hope and anticipation we feel every year. It’s a buzz in the air you can’t quite fully describe, but the energy you feel inside of you knowing that Flyers hockey is finally back just simply cannot be contained.

I had the privilege to make the journey down to Philadelphia for this special night, but I wanted to do something special for this trip. This team is everything to me. I eat, sleep, and breathe Flyers hockey. They mean more to me than anything, and I felt it was only fitting I paid a visit to the man who gave me the one thing I love in this world more than anything before I headed into the city.

A warm, breezy Friday afternoon was when I stopped and said a prayer to Mr. Snider. It’s hard to believe this was already the sixth home opener without him, but I wanted to pay my respects on the day that his prized team would take the ice for the first time this season. I left a flower for him and then I finished my journey to my hotel at the Navy Yard, right across I-95 from the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

I checked in with my friend Ben, and we toured the complex. I was able to share my knowledge and love for my teams and some of the people and venues that helped make this area special. The parking lot that was once The Spectrum was most meaningful to me. That plot of land was where the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup in 1974 in six games against the Boston Bruins. I could only envision what the celebration was like that fateful May evening on Broad Street, hoping that one day I’ll get to share that same joy and emotion at the current arena just south of it.

I don’t just love the complex, I love the city of Philadelphia in general. It’s a love that I can’t fully describe. The history, the buildings, the people, the food, the culture, everything is just collectively in its own melting pot that I become more and more enriched in every time I visit. The city has become my home away from home, and every time it gets better.

We took the SEPTA train from the complex and got off at City Hall. We walked through the very heart of the city, and we also scoped out one of the four murals the Flyers had painted in celebration of the new season. We soon headed back south and stopped by Xfinity Live! for a quick bite before we entered Wells Fargo Center for the game.

We came in right when the gates opened at 5:30, and we walked around the concourse and just soaked in the experience. We went down to our seats in Section 102, three rows behind the Vancouver Canucks bench, just taking in the environment in the calm before the storm. Warm-ups soon came, and while he watched his Canucks, I scooted over to the opposite side of the ice with my other friend Megan and one of her friends and watched the Flyers warm up.

My favorite player is Carter Hart. I saved my largest clap for him when the players exited the tunnel for their first pregame session of the year. I was so excited to see my heroes take the ice for the first time since May, and I could not have imagined how of the evening would’ve went.

The opening goal of the night was scored by Joel Farabee, picking up right where he left off last season. I had a perfect view of the goal and it was so perfect that the Flyers’ social media post of Farabee’s celebration included yours truly. They ended up capturing two Syracuse natives at the same time without even knowing it, him on the ice and myself in the crowd in my black Steve Mason game-worn jersey.

I also want to give a shoutout to the Canucks equipment staff for misspelling Alex Chiasson’s name on his jersey so I could become a micro-niche internet celebrity for the evening.

As the game wore on, the intensity picked up more and more with each passing shift. The physicality was more prevalent and the Canucks especially were taking it to the Flyers in the second period, but fast forward to the final three minutes of the third period, and it was all Philadelphia.

Travis Konecny’s power-play marker with 2:17 remaining gave me that hope that maybe, just maybe, they’d get that fourth goal to tie things up. Sure enough, the captain delivered and Claude Giroux ripped home a one-timer off a bank pass with 1:12 remaining to tie the game at 4-4 and send the orange-clad crowd into a frenzy I’ve never seen in my life in the games I’d been to before.

I was high-fiving total strangers with their only connection to me being we were rooting for the same hockey team. I was losing my voice at the screams I was letting out. “This Girl” by Kungs vs. Cookin’ on 3 Burners was blaring after the goal horn went off and I was clapping on beat so hard that the palms of my hands were as red as fresh tomatoes. I was in total euphoria as the 19,000+ in attendance including myself witnessed that the Flyers managed to pull off the comeback to force overtime.

While they ended up falling in the shootout to Vancouver, it was still the most fun I’ve ever had at a Flyers game in my life. I’ve only ever seen them win twice in person, but it didn’t matter. Being a part of the events that unfolded and witnessing the maniacal play that took place on the ice gave me enough serotonin to last a lifetime. I was still giddy as I walked back to my hotel room and was able to see the arena nice and clearly from my bed.

Saturday I had to say goodbye to the Wells Fargo Center for now as I checked out and headed into New Jersey. We had a full day planned before we drove home in the evening. I got to take some pictures of the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, and then I made an emotional stop to West Somerdale Road. We visited the site of Pelle Lindbergh’s tragic accident, and I left a flower there as well after I said a prayer.

We then headed back to Philadelphia and I introduced my friend into his first Geno’s-Pat’s taste test. And yes, I’m aware that they are not the best cheesesteak options in the city, but it’s a fun little thing to do. We both agreed that Geno’s reigns supreme at Passyunk and 9th, and then we drove to a parking garage in Center City and began the rest of our day.

We walked through City Hall once again, taking in the architecture and beauty of the very heart of Philadelphia. We then marched on to Independence Hall, followed by a stop in Washington Square. We also caught a glimpse of the Liberty Bell. We ended our day by walking to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, walking up the famous “Rocky Steps” and we enjoyed a gorgeous view of the City of Brotherly Love’s skyline. It was just another day for me of embracing the culture of the city. If I had my way, I’d move there tomorrow and live the rest of my life happily in Philadelphia.

My love for the city is indirectly caused by the Flyers. If they didn’t play here or if I wasn’t a fan of them, chances are I’d never have come here in my life. My first stay in Philadelphia was back in January of 2017 for my first ever Flyers game. My dad and I stayed at The Warwick in Rittenhouse Square, and after we saw the Flyers take on the New Jersey Devils, we spent the day after doing some of the same things I did on Saturday. We visited City Hall, Independence Hall, the Liberty Hall, the One Liberty Place Observation Deck, and Reading Terminal Market that weekend.

That was my first foray into Philadelphia, and I was instantly hooked on the city forever at that point. I knew the Flyers were my whole world and that they played here, but I always wanted to be closer to them somehow. I cannot skate worth a lick and I couldn’t afford the equipment growing up, so I could never play. My next closest and much more realistic goal was writing.

In my senior year English class in high school, we had to open class by writing journal entries. I would always write about the Flyers, and I would usually write about the games that happened the night before. This was during the 2016-17 season, so I would write about some of the storylines that year too, which included Shayne Gostisbehere being healthy scratched, Claude Giroux allegedly being on the decline, and whether the Flyers would re-sign Michal Neuvirth or my favorite Flyer ever, Steve Mason.

I also took a journalism course that year, and on top of writing about the Flyers, I also sprinkled in other teams as well. I wrote about how Steve Mason, at the time, should be re-signed. I wrote about the Flyers’ 10-game winning streak that year. I wrote about the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 16-game winning streak and profiled some of the players along the way in it. I even pieced together an argumentative essay on fighting in hockey and did a presentation on why it should still remain in the game in a smaller role while understanding why it’s being phased out.

I knew that I could turn this into something. I began my own small blog during the 2019-20 season, and after just freelancing on there for a little while, I decided to play my cards and apply to Broad Street Buzz back in February. A week later, I joined the team and I ended up writing my first piece on March 4th, covering the game recap for the Flyers’ 0-3 road comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was only the beginning of something I couldn’t have imagined would take me this far this quickly.

I’ve always been pretty involved with the site since then. I covered a lot of the game recaps over the season, and I helped with some of the news pieces and wrote up my own editorials as well. Over the summer it was almost daily that I’d have something published, and I was proud of myself for trying to achieve my dreams and continuing to produce content for readers all the time.

I had, and still have, a great team of people behind me. But all good things must come to an end, and today is my last day with Broad Street Buzz. I won’t stop writing, and I’m sure you’ll see me around at my new gig soon enough. I’ve accomplished a lot in my time with the site and I want to publicly thank my entire group of fellow contributors. You all do a tremendous job with Broad Street Buzz, you all made me feel very welcome from the beginning of my time here, and I can’t wait to see the things you all accomplish in the future.

I want to give my largest thank you to my site expert and editor, Ariel Melendez. You’ve given me all the tools to succeed so far and you’ve helped push me to become a better observer of the game, a better observer of the Flyers, and a better writer as well. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities I received without you and I’m forever grateful.

I also want to thank all of our readers as well. You guys help keep this site going with your support and we’re incredibly thankful for it, and I can assure you you’re in great hands. Broad Street Buzz was where I really got my feet wet in hockey writing, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. This website and this city and this team have all given me the inspirations and opportunities to keep my dream of working in hockey alive, and I cannot wait to begin the next chapter of my journey, much as the Flyers are beginning the next chapter of their journey in the quest to quench their 46-year championship thirst.

Thank you to everyone, and I’ll see you all again soon.

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