Being a Philadelphia sports fan has been, and continues to
be, a trying experience. This year, right now, is no exception.

It’s fantastic that the Phillies are back in the postseason.
Yet, it’s disturbing to see the Eagles continuing a sputtering spiral. Both
teams have excellent talent, but it’s the men in charge that are taking the
teams in two different directions.

I’m the first to admit that I was more than disappointed
when the Phillies hired Charlie Manuel to manage the team in 2005. More than
one obscenity came flying out of my mouth. But after four consecutive division
titles, two trips to the World Series with one being a championship, and now
another chance, I am a loyal Charlie fan. It might be frustrating to listen to
him speak (even for a fellow stutterer) but he’s a winner and he’s
straightforward. That’s more than I can say for his counterpart in the Eagles’
organization.

My sports fan obscenities are now flung unabashedly at Head
Coach Andy Reid who I flat out don’t trust. He can’t manage the play clock,
can’t call a sane offensive series of downs and won’t play it straight with the
fans.

This season, so far, is typical of Reid since 2005. After
the Donovan McNabb trade, the coach said Kevin Kolb would be the quarterback.
Kolb goes down halfway through the first game and Michael Vick takes over and
wins two games. Great, right? Maybe.

Here comes Andy saying on a Monday, “Kevin Kolb is the
starting quarterback.” On Tuesday he said, “Michael Vick is the starting
quarterback.” On Wednesday he’s asked if Kolb would be traded by the October
deadline and the coach replied that it was too soon to tell.

Then came the press conference for last week’s loss to the
Washington Redskins, led by the aforementioned Donovan McNabb.

When asked about that hideous clock management mistake at
the end of the first half, when the Eagles were penalized for delay of game and
forced them to go for a field goal instead of a touchdown, Coach Reid said it
was his fault and that he needs to do a better job.

How many times do we fans have to hear that line. It’s been
his catch phrase for the last five seasons. When will he start actually doing
that better job? The Eagles’ brass should have tossed Reid and kept McNabb.

Let’s get back to Charlie, though. With the exception of his
second season as manager, his team has improved its winning record each year
under his leadership. This season they finished with the best record in the
majors and that’s with six of the starting eight spending time on the disabled
list. One of those, Jimmy Rollins, was on the DL twice with a calf injury and
sidelined again with a strained hamstring.

Not only did the team have to deal with those losses,
pitchers went on the DL, too. Yet, with all that, they overcame a 7-and-a-half
game deficit to the Atlanta Braves to win the National League East title for a
fourth straight year and earn home field advantage for as long as they stay in
the hunt for a World Series Championship.
Even home field in the series is thanks to Charlie since he was the
manager of the NL All Star team that won the midsummer classic this year.

I’m writing this Wednesday morning, before the start of the
playoffs this afternoon. Sports are fickle. Underdogs sometimes win and
favorites sometimes fall on their faces. It’s too soon to tell who will do
what, whether the Phils can go back for another World Series try, but the
Phillies have Charlie and so do the fans.

I want a rematch with the Yankees.

Addendum: A no-hitter in game one? Incredible.