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Oh, What a Philadelphia Sports Night: October 9th, 2025
By Nick Piccone
Published:
Oh, what a night,
early October in ‘25
what a very dismal time for me,
as I remember, what a night
Feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had our psyches tested as Philly sports fans. The Eagles won the Super Bowl by destroying a team looking for a three-peat just eight months ago. The Phillies had their best team on paper since 2011. The Union are the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs after a dominating year on the pitch. The Flyers are finally building a foundation where they won’t be in salary cap hell for years moving forward. The Sixers are… well, they just are.
A day ago, we were excited about the possibility of a Philly sports night to remember with the Phillies forcing a Game 4 against the Dodgers with their ace on the mound, the Eagles traveling to MetLife to play a Giants team that they’ve completely owned since 2000, and the Flyers opening up the season against the defending Stanley Cup Champions in Florida.
It worked out exactly that way – for the haters. It’s a night many of us would like to forget, though it’s undeniable that these experiences build Philly sports fan character and resolve. We have been dealt blow after blow after blow year after year after year, as children and adults. We’ve been rewarded with three championships in the modern era, but that doesn’t exactly take the sting away from a Philly sports trifecta when the trifecta is three pretty heartbreaking losses in the span of one hour:
The obvious worst gut-punch was the Phillies’ loss to the Dodgers. Once again, the superstars failed to show up in an elimination situation where they weren’t facing a 75-year-old pitcher who’s retiring after the season. The actual superstars on this team are the starting pitchers and some of the bullpen arms. They deserve all the praise this off-season until they give us a reason not to. They single-handedly catapulted the Phillies into the No. 2 seed in the National League. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper have absolutely failed their teammates. The other guys could never be counted on in those high-leverage situations, so I don’t point to them as much as I point to the Big 3, who are paid to do exactly that.
Are the Dodgers probably the best overall team in the league? Absolutely. Their stars struggled in the same exact way the Phillies’ stars did. Phillies pitching held Shohei Ohtani to one hit in 18 at-bats. The series was winnable. That’s why it’s so maddening that the stars couldn’t perform like stars. Two token home runs in a blowout doesn’t skew the data. We know exactly what they did in those high-leverage situations. Harper had three hits in the four games. The power isn’t there anymore. Turner had four hits, with three of them coming in Game 3. Of course a sample size of 162 is greater than four, but the weight 162 holds is much less. We’ve seen that for almost three straight postseasons now.
Wish I didn’t even know their names, it’s never gonna be the same.
At least the Birds had our backs, right? I’d say that might be the worst game they’ve played since, well, pick any of those 2023 end-of-season-collapse games. The offense is simply a joke at this point, and I doubt they’ll somehow figure it out when almost everyone knows what’s coming. The most predictable offense in the league, right? And with the injuries on defense and lack of depth, Jaxson Dart made plays. It felt like a dead team walking into MetLife on Thursday night, and the black pants couldn’t turn the tide.
It was ev’rything a nightmare’d be, sweet surrender, what a night.
There are tons of questions surrounding the Eagles at this point. I’d say most of the ire should be directed on the offensive side of the ball. I understand the defense has depth issues, but they just couldn’t make any plays on Thursday night. A maddening mixture to watch while Turner, Schwarber, Harper, Bohm, Marsh, Realmuto, Kepler, and Stott couldn’t do anything, either. It’s crazy to think Nick Castellanos, who most likely won’t be here next year, was once again one of the only players to show up more than one night in the NLDS.
As for the Flyers, I don’t think very many people expected them to win Thursday night. They were tied after two periods against the champions, so baby steps, I guess. Of the three teams, the Flyers have the momentum by default. Not a great position to be in as a fan in October.
In many ways, it feels like we’re built to withstand nights like last night. As low as we feel in the immediate aftermath strengthens our resolve for the next time. Whenever that is. Because we know it’s coming, sooner or later.
Nick Piccone has covered Philly sports and events for over 14 years with various outlets. He covered professional wrestling for PhillyVoice from 2015-2021, and co-launched The Straight Shooters podcast in 2015. He's also a producer for Fox Sports Radio Philadelphia and the Villanova Sports Radio Network. He grew up in South Philadelphia and South Jersey, and is a graduate of Neumann University. Contact: picconenick@gmail.com