I Am Getting Sick and Tired of Losing Out To Los Angeles

Remember a few days ago, when we began an article by posting a variety of tweets from different MLB Insiders, all saying in a roundabout way that Manny Machado was going to get traded to the Phillies inevitably? Well, fuck us right?

 

Swing and a miss on another campaign to bring a star to the star-hungry sports city that is Philadelphia. This obviously is not the end for the #MachadoToPhilly movement as he will become a free agent once the season ends. The fear always was that he could turn into a short term rental and you would waste the future of prospects in the process. The Dodgers, who are in “now or never” mode, probably had to take that gamble. My problem isn’t that we didn’t land Machado, it’s that Los Angeles did. LA, a star driven town, has been doing that all summer, much to the chagrin of the Philadelphia sports scene.

Los Angeles’ newest star acquisition in Machado is a bit of a different case because he didn’t get to choose LA, he was dealt there. But, let’s be honest, look at the big ass chain he is wearing in the All-Star game that Gucci Mane would be proud of. Do you think that dude is disappointed to be going to LA?  Lebron somewhat shockingly headed west, Kawhi is probably soon behind. Machado is going to be playing in Dodger Stadium soon…I’m really getting fucking sick of that town.

I really don’t blame athletes for heading West to live in sunny Hidden Hills. Have you ever driven around a parking lot during winter in the Northeast because most of the spots are taken by large mounds of plowed snow and gravel? Who would willingly live in a place like that? The City of Angels is a better life, a stress free lifestyle.

Even so, I despise the fact that a city like Los Angeles is handed star athlete after star athlete on a silver platter despite being a lackluster town for sports fandom. I have never been to Los Angeles, but I have seen every season of Entourage plus the movie. From what I’ve gathered, there seems to be a shit ton more to do than care about your local sports teams. The location of the city makes it a pretty laid back lifestyle and it carries over to their fandom. It’s nowhere close to a Philadelphia, or Boston, or New York. It is a Miami on steroids (or cocaine, which is also what I have gathered from Entourage). I sound like a sore loser, but they don’t deserve the talent they receive. They already have the Hollywood entertainment, beautiful weather with a beach scene, and Emily Ratajkowski. All we have is Wawa Hoagie Fest. Can they at least let us have the upper hand in sports?

What I also know about the great city of Philadelphia, is that we can still thrive as a sports town without the power of star players. Before Brian Dawkins was inducted into the most recent Hall of Fame class, the last Eagles player to do it was Tommy McDonald. You know why we are still awe struck when Allen Iverson shows up courtside? He is probably the only athlete to ever be a worldwide culture changer that played in Philadelphia. With Carson Wentz, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons (dating Kendall Jenner), this is the most star power this city has seen in its existence. We are a city not built on star power unless it is homegrown. As sweet as it would be to land Machado after coveting him for so long, the Golden Age of Philly sports rages on, and we are doing it our own way. There’s there LA way of doing things, but the Philly way is the only way we know.

 

By Aidan Powers | July 18, 2018