AP

Philadelphia, Kansas City reveling in golden eras in sports

Feb 10, 2023, 8:21 PM | Updated: Feb 11, 2023, 10:26 am

A boy runs across a logo for the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football team while attending a display Thu...

A boy runs across a logo for the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football team while attending a display Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs are scheduled to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)


              Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni smiles during practice at the NFL football team's training facility, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
            
              Philadelphia Eagles fans react as the come for the party during the Eagles Send Off Party for Super Bowl LVII, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
            
              With the Kansas City Chiefs headed to the Super Bowl, downtown is lit red, including Union Station, in the foreground, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
            
              A boy runs across a logo for the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football team while attending a display Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs are scheduled to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
            
              FILE — Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scores a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during an NFL football game Dec. 4, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
            
              A Philadelphia Eagles flag is held as the team arrives ahead of Super Bowl 57, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Phoenix. The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.(AP Photo/Matt York)

PHOENIX (AP) — Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt remembers the halcyon days of Philadelphia sports in the early 1980s when, during a span of consecutive seasons, the city’s four professional sports teams all played for championships.

The Flyers lost to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Final. The 76ers fell to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Eagles were blown out by the Raiders in the Super Bowl. Only the Phillies — Schmidt and those fabulous Phillies — were successful, beating the Kansas City Royals in six games to win the World Series.

Schmidt called 1980 a “year that I’ll never forget,” not only for that championship but for the start of his long friendship with Royals third baseman George Brett, one that endures to this day but will be put to the test on Sunday.

Schmidt is pulling for the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Brett, quite naturally, is all-in on the Chiefs.

“He and I made a bet,” Schmidt said. “Just $20, but the bragging rights are worth millions.”

There really is no loser in Philadelphia or Kansas City these days.

The Phillies are coming off another World Series appearance, and another defeat, this time to the Astros, while the Eagles are trying to avoid a similar fate Sunday night. The Sixers are soaring in the Eastern Conference with Joel Embiid and James Harden, Villanova is coming off a Final Four appearance and the Union played for the Major League Soccer title.

Even Temple beat Houston a few weeks ago in men’s basketball, the third win over a No. 1 team in program history.

“I live in Atlanta,” said hoops Hall of Famer Julius Erving, who was a big part of the Sixers’ early 1980s success, “so when I turn the radio on, all I hear about is Atlanta sports. So it’s so nice to come back to Philadelphia and know that buzz is here.

“The town is crazy,” Dr. J added. “Everybody’s feeling themselves.”

They’re feeling warm and fuzzy in Kansas City, too.

The city straddling the Kansas-Missouri state line long ago shed its old cow-town image, turning into a hipster paradise on the plains.

And the dizzying amount of sports on tap in Kansas City, coupled with the success of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs over the years, have only heightened the sense of civic pride that people are feeling these days.

“I think the fanbase is unbelievable,” Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “I want to be in a place where I can play ball, show my personality and just win man, so yeah. This has been it.”

The Chiefs are playing in their third Super Bowl in four years and trying to bring home a second Lombardi Trophy in that span.

And just across the parking lot, within the past decade, the long-suffering Royals won two American League pennants and a World Series — though they are now in the midst of a massive rebuilding effort.

Not that they’ve become irrelevant. They’re in the planning stages to replace the aging jewel of Kauffman Stadium with a new downtown stadium, which promises to be the centerpiece of a ballpark village and entertainment complex.

There’s another stadium under construction, too, for the Kansas City Current of the National Women’s Soccer League — the team lost the NWSL title game to the Portland Thorns in late October. Mahomes owns a stake in that club, along with pieces of the Royals and MLS club Sporting Kansas City.

Next month, the NCAA Tournament is bringing a regional final to T-Mobile Center, and there’s a chance Kansas will be there trying to defend its men’s basketball national championship. Then in April, the NFL brings its draft circus to town with a sprawling setup centered on the historic Union Station downtown.

“How can it be better?” asked Kathy Nelson, the chief executive of the Kansas City Sports Commission, who grew up with Brett and the Royals and now is helping to organize the draft and other events in the city.

“I remember celebrating championships,” she said, “but I don’t remember a time when we were this stacked.”

Most cities have a golden era in sports. Some more than one. And they can sometimes last decades, such as the one in Boston, where over a nearly two-decade span its four pro teams won a combined 12 championships: six Lombardi Trophies for the Patriots, four World Series crowns for the Red Sox, and titles each for the Bruins and Celtics.

Philadelphia and Kansas City are basking in the glow of one right now.

___

Gelston reported from Philadelphia.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Philadelphia, Kansas City reveling in golden eras in sports