Philly's biggest sports year gets supercharged
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Flyers in the playoffs: Check. Sixers too: Check. And now, a UFC championship bout to boot.
Why it matters: In the past week, Philly's sportiest year has gotten even sportier.
The big picture: Local fans have a packed summer slate: next month's PGA Championship, the FIFA World Cup in June, the MLB All-Star Game in July, and the newly announced UFC 330 in August.
- But the fun starts now: The Flyers, long the forgotten franchise in a city buoyed by the championship success of its other sports teams, are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Zoom in: The Flyers will play the Penguins in Game 1 in Pittsburgh on Saturday at 8pm.
- The best-of-seven series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4. If necessary, Games 5 and 6 will alternate between Pittsburgh and Philly, with Game 7 in Pittsburgh.
What's next: The 76ers' playoff series against the Celtics starts Sunday at 1pm in Boston.
- Games 3 and 4 are in Philly on April 24 and 26.
Reality check: With the new additions to the schedule, some locals are in triage mode, having to decide which expensive bucket-list sporting events to indulge in and which to skip.
For Flyers superfan Kate McGinnis, there's not even a close second.
- "It's like, 'Nope, the Flyers are going to take complete priority for as many home games as we can get tickets for,'" McGinnis tells Axios.
The intrigue: The Sixers, who missed the playoffs last year, were better equipped to handle injuries to their stars this season, as players like Andre Drummond and rookie VJ Edgecombe stepped up.
- But at the start of the NHL season, some prognosticators gave the Flyers a less than 5% chance of getting to the postseason.
- The team has failed to win at least 40 games 10 times since 2006-07. And Philly hasn't hoisted a Stanley Cup since it won back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975.
- That, plus it being head coach Rick Tocchet's first season leading the team, has made this playoff run much sweeter for Flyers fans.
What they're saying: For years, McGinnis' therapist — a Penguins fan — helped her through the trauma of watching her team repeatedly lose. The Flyers' newfound success has made for some spirited sessions lately.
- "You kinda have to be Gritty to be a Flyers fan," she says.
Sports influencer Jamie Pagliei, better known as Philly Sports Guy, is planning to make the five-hour trek to Pittsburgh for Game 1.
- "The Flyers are where I learned how to be a fan," Pagliei, whose mother and grandmother both worked at the old Spectrum, tells Axios. "That's how I grew up."
The bottom line: For a sports-obsessed city, it's an embarrassment of riches.