Playoffs: No second thoughts

March 10, 2006 | By Jason Sapp | Discuss

I work at Rancocas Valley High School in Mount Holly, NJ, as the Television Station Manager. I also oversee all live shoots of sporting events and concerts the school puts on. This season, our Boys Basketball team finished 24-2 and earned a first round bye in its playoff bracket. Throughout the school, the overwhelming support of the team drove the students, as well as the staff, into frenzy. Not since the days of Danny Miller had the school been so excited about its basketball team. The possibility of a State championship run was more realistic now then ever.

The team is coached by Jay Flanagan, an English teacher who could easily be mistaken for a likeable version of Larry Brown. Throughout the first game, against North Brunswick, I felt something that I had never experienced, dating back to when I attended the school all those years ago. The passion of the crowd, the absolute raw energy they produced, gave it a different feel. Flanagan paced the court, doing his best impression of the former Sixers coach, while guiding his team (and I emphasize that word) to a playoff victory, the first in several years for RV. It wasn’t just another high school basketball game. If you had just walked into the gym, not knowing it was a high school, you could have easily mistaken the action and excitement for the NCAA Tournament. It was that crazy.

Following the victory, I thought about why this game meant so much more. Yes, it was the playoffs, but it had that unique feeling to it. Just like when the Eagles win their annual division title or when the Phillies are rallying for that last wild card spot. This city, this region, needs the playoffs. The fans, the players, the media, everyone craves a winner, but in Philly, life is not complete unless the playoffs are a definite. While other cities like Cleveland revel in their mediocrity, for Philadelphia, it is a pain that cannot be cured unless a championship trophy is raised high above.

No team in Philly excites the city more than the Eagles. Last year was no exception, as the gritty underdog story, provided to moviegoers over the summertime with Invincible, once again played out on the Pattison Avenue stage with Jeff Garcia leading the once-lifeless Birds to another division title and a playoff win over the hated New York Giants. Sure, there is the understood disappointment if the Birds don’t make it to the postseason, but after their season ends, who does Philly turn to? The Sixers are miserable, the Flyers are all but dead and the Phillies don’t begin until April.

The poor level of play from the ‘other’ Philly teams is sadly infectious, lessening everyone’s hopes each year the team fails to produce. These traditionally successful franchises leave fans wondering how they’ve gotten so bad in such a short time. This is the sad reality of professional sports; the realization that your team is not going back to the playoffs for a while, and in this area, it hurts just a little more. So, in order to dull the pain, fans turn elsewhere, seeking any kind of representative who can serve them well. Philly fans are so impressionable that they can find a contender in any possible competition and treat their quest with as much respect and admiration as a Super Bowl run.

Anything, from boxing to horse racing to American Idol, the Philadelphia area is always seeking its next champion. It’s the thrill of the chase, the possibility of hoisting a winner on the city’s shoulder and proudly marching down Broad Street. All of us here at RV high school were hoping for a similar situation, but sadly, our dreams came to an end on Friday night against a highly ranked and equally impressive South Brunswick team, who did what no other team accomplished all year: beat us in our house. The school was temporarily satisfied over the fall, when our field hockey team won its first sectional championship ever, and we were impressed when all but one of our teams made a playoff, but the Boys Basketball team will the one remembered for years to come. The team came to represent the heart and soul of the school, something that everyone could get behind and root on in their journey. Needless to say, editing intro videos and filming their games was an absolute pleasure. Even some of my students, most of whom are not too sports-knowledgeable, got behind the cause and increased their productivity to professional levels.

Philly needs the playoffs. Some teams, some cities are just lucky to get there. For this town, it’s not just an option: it’s a necessity.

Jason Sapp can be reached at jsapp@phillypurge.com