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Where Does Cam York’s Stick Toss Rank Among Iconic Philly Sports Celebrations?
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Three periods were played; the game was still tied at zero. Overtime. The Penguins had the momentum. Their offense was surging in waves, peppering Dan Vladar with one quality scoring opportunity after another. The Flyers looked exhausted; their time of possession was down, their legs seemed dead, they were playing on their heels. A trip back to Pittsburgh for a Game 7 hung in the balance. The possibility of blowing a 3-0 series lead. The Flyers needed to score. But where were the chances?
Face-off in Pittsburgh’s zone. Noah Cates wins the draw. Matvei Michkov – a healthy scratch in Game 5 – backhands a pass above the slot to Cam York. York shoots from the point.
York scores.
Utter euphoria. Xfinity Mobile Arena erupts. York’s teammates chase him down, and as he skates away, he tosses his stick over the glass and into the South Philly crowd.
There can be no doubt… This… was sick…
There has already been plenty said about York’s celly, and in my opinion, all of it has been incredible: He almost instantly announced he hoped he didn’t hurt anybody in the stands. The lucky fan who caught the stick reported he’s okay. The video of the celebration has been shared online countless times in the twenty-four hours since it happened –
“I hope everyone’s okay in the stands. Definitely don’t want a lawsuit.”
But as I’m sitting here reflecting on the moment, smiling huge and gently nodding to myself, I can’t help but wonder: Is Cam York’s stick toss already an all-time Philly sports celly?
Let us ponder… by refreshing our collective memory with some of the most iconic Philly sports reactions of all time –
Celebrations That Must Be in the Conversation:
Rhys Hoskins’ Bat Spike
Allen Iverson’s Step Over
Bryce Harper’s Staredown
Joel Embiid’s Airplane
Brad Lidge Drops to his Knees After Winning World Series
DeSean Jackson Throws the Ball Into the Stands After the Miracle at the Meadowlands Touchdown
Look, I’m not going to sit here and try to rank these. That is a challenge for another day. I’m merely asking a question: Does Cam’s stick toss belong on this list? Does it? Someone answer me…
I will step up here. I will provide a definitive verdict.
Recency bias be damned…
Of course York’s stick throw belongs here. Did you see what I typed up there? It was sick. Case closed.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)