Even people who aren’t sports fans are probably aware of the
incredible run of the Philadelphia Flyers. Here’s a team that almost failed to
make the playoffs at all, but are now going into the Stanley Cup finals against
the Chicago Black Hawks.

Some readers already know I grew up living and dying with
the Phillies. Those were the days when Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts were
playing for the Phils at old Connie Mack Stadium. It was a horrible team, but
they were mine. Ashburn was my boyhood idol and when I started playing Cub
Scout softball I had to play centerfield because that was his position. (It
wasn’t until Little League that I learned that second base was more fun for
me.)

The significant year was 1964 when Jim Bunning pitched a
perfect game and I got so excited I shot a BB up my nose. But it was the team’s
failure at the end of the season, blowing a six-and-a-half game lead by losing
10 straight of their last 12 games, that crushed me, afflicting me with that
stereotypical Philadelphia skepticism.

I’m still an avid Phillies’ fan, but for a short period of
time I was nuts over the Flyers. My sports fan claim to fame is that the one
and only time I ever had a season seat for any team was the year the Flyers won
the Stanley Cup for the first time. Even with that stellar season, I never
believed in or accepted the “team of destiny” idea. This year’s Flyers team,
however, can make even a die-hard skeptic think twice.

Reliable goaltending is crucial in hockey, but injuries led
to a revolving door situation at goalie this year. Brian Boucher, Ray Emory and
Michael Leighton might as well have been earning frequent flier points on and
off the injured list. The team went through five goalies in all during the
season.

The head coach was replaced in December and the team had a
good run leading up to the Olympic break, but faltered after that and getting
into the playoffs was almost a pipedream.

But that fantasy turned to reality when they won the final
game of the season, not in regulation, not in overtime, but in a shootout no
less.

They got into the postseason as a seven seed in the Eastern
Conference and beat out the number two seed in five games. Their level of play
then turned mythic.

The second round of the playoffs pitted the Flyers against
the favored Boston Bruins. Three games later the Flyers were facing elimination
down three games to none. Only two other NHL teams had ever rebounded from a
three game deficit to win a playoff series, but the Flyers took the next three
games to tie the series, forcing a game seven. And this when goalie Brian
Boucher went down with injuries to both knees and had to be replaced again by
recently healed Michael Leighton.

What did the Flyers do? They let the Bruins score three
unanswered goals in the first period of game seven. But they then scored four
unanswered goals of their own to take the series 4-3. This was when the pundits
started talking about the Flyers as a team of destiny.

In the Eastern Conference finals they beat the Montreal
Canadiens in five games, winning three by shutout.

So now they’re in the Stanley Cup finals with the likes of
Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere healthy and back in the lineup. Can
they beat the favored Black Hawks and bring Lord Stanley’s cup back to
Philadelphia? Yes. Will they? I don’t know. I have my doubts, but I sure hope they do and would like to see them do it six games. It will be
good for the regional psyche and might even turn a skeptic into a believer.

Even if they lose, it’s been a great run and there is a
basic lesson to learn. Don’t quit, no matter the odds.