Carchidi Column: Flyers, Phillies and the (Shhhhhh!) Nasty D-word

The 2022 Philadelphia Phillies and 2010 Philadelphia Flyers have a lot in common: Both developed a special bond with their fans, both had city officials planning championship parades that never happened.

Both suffered excruciating Game 6 losses.

When the Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the World Series by mashing five homers in Game 3, many believed they were headed to their third championship in franchise history.

Some even used the D-word.

As in destiny.

That made me cringe. The beauty of sports is that the script can change in one at-bat, one game (especially, ahem, a no-hitter), one hockey shift, one stunning goal.

We learned that from both this year’s Phillies and from the 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers.

I remember thinking those Flyers, who needed a shootout win on the last day of the regular season just to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, were a team of destiny. They had upset the New Jersey Devils in Round 1, and then came the Round 2 shocker. Down 3-0 in the series against the Boston Bruins and trailing 3-0 in Game 7, they came all the way back.

In Boston, no less.

They were going to win their third Stanley Cup, most of us assumed. It’s destiny.

Congratulations @Phillies on a great season! pic.twitter.com/mBtdpZLOli

— Houston Astros (@astros) November 6, 2022

Logic grows

That logic grew. The Flyers beat Montreal in the Eastern Conference finals, and had shutouts in three of their four wins. Three.

But there’s no such thing as destiny when the opponent plays better than your team in the clutch.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Patrick Kane turned the tables on the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. The Houston Astros did likewise to the Phillies in the World Series, getting an assist from Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson, who showed no “feel” for the situation in Saturday’s Game 6. He made a managerial blunder, pulling Zack Wheeler during a sixth inning in which the righthander kept breaking Houston’s top hitters’ bats and looking unhittable.

Bottom line: Don’t ever use the phrase “team of destiny” when the playoffs roll around. Performance trumps destiny. That’s why the Flyers, whose goaltending was awful in the 2010 Final, are still in a long Stanley Cup drought — 47 years and counting.

And it’s why the Phillies, whose hitters failed to make adjustments and batted a mind-boggling .163 in the World Series, are painfully picking up the pieces after a lost opportunity.

Both Philly teams should be applauded for overcoming obstacles to get so far, for making their improbable rides so enjoyable, for lifting up the city and giving fans seasons to remember.

Ah, if only the final stage, the one where players, coaches, and managers have a chance to make indelible impressions for themselves and their fans, wasn’t so painful to rehash.

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