Game Highlights
The first game on this list marks the point where every Philadelphian thought Cliff Lee was immortal. Lee came to the Phillies in a mid-season trade last season and for the most part was dominant in a Phillies uniform.Lee had a rough September and thus people began to doubt the magic that was Cliff Lee, but then the playoffs hit and the guy was automatic. He had heard the criticism about never making a playoff appearance and whether or not he was ready, well he squashed all that talk.
Coming out of that Game 1, Lee had thrown 33 and 1/3 innings and gave up a total of two earned runs which equalled an ERA of 0.54.
In that now-legendary Game 1, Lee threw a complete game while striking out ten and walking none. The most amazing part of his performance was how effortless Lee made it look in Yankee Stadium in October, it was a pitching clinic for the ages and it made life-long Cliff Lee fans out of the entire tri-state area.
4) Villanova vs. Pittsburgh: 2009 East Regional Final, Villanova 78, Pittsburgh 76
Game HighlightsAnytime Pittsburgh loses is a plus, but in this fashion and to the Villanova Wildcats made this glorious. The Wildcats have become the undisputed D1 basketball power in Philadelphia unseating the Temple Owls, who are certainly no slouch.
This game helped the Wildcats' image in the city and made fans out of millions of people in the Philadelphia dying to support good basketball (sorry Sixers).
No one will ever forget big shot Scotty Reynolds' drive towards the rim for the winning basket with .5 seconds left on the clock that sent the 'Cats to the Final Four. Villanova improved to 30-7 on the season and made it to a Final Four where they played North Carolina, that one didn't turn out so well, but this was a classic March Madness game.
3) Eagles vs. Cowboys: Final game of the 2008 regular season, Eagles 44, Cowboys 6
Game Highlights
This...was...awesome. There are few moments in sports that feel as good as winning a championship to fans, but this game almost captured the euphoria that would result from winning a championship. It was the perfect ending to the not-so-perfect season.
The above picture is what I will always remember from that day, a day where everything was on the line and the Cowboys turned in one of the worst efforts in team history. Romo completed only 21 of 39 passes with an interception.
The Eagles needed to win this game to make it to the playoffs as they were aided by the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans of all teams to make it to the wild-card round to play Minnesota. The landscape for the Eagles is a little different now, but for one day the Eagles were able to silence all the critics and the Cowboys at the same time.
2) Flyers vs. Bruins: Game 7 of 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Flyers 4, Bruins 3
This one just happened as well, but it's no less important in the Philly sports pantheon. Everyone not only counted out the Flyers, people forgot about them.
The Flyers got into the postseason thanks to a last day of the season shootout victory against the New York Rangers which secured the Flyers the seventh seed in the playoffs. The Flyers began shocking people from that point forward.
Philadelphia dismissed the New Jersey Devils in five games and went on to play the third seeded Bruins and then the hot at the moment Brian Boucher was suddenly not so hot and then injured.
Just returning from injury was Michael Leighton and so he was inserted into the starting goaltender role and the comeback was on. The Flyers were down three games to nothing and after Leighton entered the net, they just kept chipping away at the series lead until the impossible became possible.
Game 7 echoed the story of this series, the Flyers quickly got down in the first period 3-0 and then Flyers coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout, it's been labelled the timeout that saved the season because after that point the Flyers played more agressively and Leighton was better in goal and the Flyers successfully climbed out of a 3-0 hole in the series and completed a 3-0 comeback in Game 7 which was piunctauted by Simon Gagne's power play goal with seven minutes left in the game.
The Flyers went on to beat the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals but fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, but overall, a great year for the orange and black.
1) Phillies vs Rays: Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, Phillies 4, Rays 3
So good it spanned three days, the reason this game tops the list is obvious. This game ended all the frustration, all the "can't get over the hump" talk. the cursed talk, the Phillies ended our 25 year championship drought and created a buzz for baseball in Phialdelphia that the city hasn't seen in about 15 years.
Baseball is now an event in Philly, Citizens Bank Park is the "it" spot in town and part of the reason is this game.
This game was unique because Game 5 originally began on Monday night, was postponed due to rain in the sixth inning and finished on Wednesday.
Cole Hamels was crowned as World Series MVP as he started Games 1 and 5 in the World Series and went 4-0 in 5 postseason starts, but in the end this was important because we didn't fall short, we lived up to the expectations and surpassed them. Without a doubt, the greatest moment I've experienced as a Philadelphia fan. Now back to the current day...
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