I thought it might interest Cooney to know that a curse really does afflict the sports teams of Philadelphia, and it does not involve Rocky (a figure that we Philadelphians hold near and dear to our hearts).

A statue of William Penn stands atop City Hall in Philadelphia, the biggest statue on top of a building in the world. From the date when statue was put in place in 1894, an informal gentleman’s agreement existed that no building constructed in the city could rise above the top of William Penn’s hat, a height of almost 550 feet. This agreement was honored until 1984, when talks began to build the city’s first skyscraper, One Liberty Place; the skyscraper opened in March 1987, exceeding the height of the statue by almost 400 feet.

The city’s sports teams had had a run of success just prior to this: the Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, the Sixers won the NBA title in 1983, and all four teams made appearances in their sports’ finals in 1980, culminating with the Phillies’ first ever win in the Fall Classic (in only their third appearance). However, in 1985–the year after talks to build the skyscraper started–the Flyers lost to the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals, and no Philadelphia major sports team has won its championship since. All four have made appearances in the final round of their respective postseason and lost–the Flyers in ’85 and ’97, the Phillies in ’93, the Sixers in ’01, and the Eagles in ’05.

However, it is my personal belief that the curse–known as the Curse of Billy Penn–has already been broken, and here’s why: the first skyscraper in Philadelphia to eclipse the height of One Liberty Place, the Comcast Center, was completed in 2008, and a small figure of William Penn was attached to the final beam at the building’s top.

It may also interest Cooney to know that when Philadelphians booed and (supposedly) threw snowballs at Santa Claus at a football game, the Saint Nick in question was perceptibly intoxicated and was wearing a tattered costume. That, combined with the cold weather, the snow, and the home team playing dismally, would be enough to rile up any crowd–perhaps not to the degree that it did this particular one, but definitely enough to boo him, at the very least.

Cordially,

Daniel Rosen

Music Education major, class of 2011

Daniel, you are absolutely right and apparently I should have kept my mouth shut. The Rays werent that good and maybe just a tad bit to young. The were completely spanked and I guess there may not be a curse at all involving Rocky or William Penn.

The only question I have to ask is why would William Penn be mad. He gets to Take a leak on the city every time it rains. That was the only story I ever heard about the statue.

Also the story about Saint Nick was from Outside the Lines. In the show it was the Santa hired by the stadium and he said he was not drunk. I have also heard that this is a story that fans from the city make up so it doesn’t seem that bad.

Either way you won the world series and in just about the best way possible. There is no reason for you to be angry and thanks for the insight it is nice to have two sides of the story. Maybe next time I will keep my mouth shut before making predictions like that. Probably not but there is a chance. Congratulations.

Stephen Cooney