Ranking The Best Possible Philly Sports Documentaries

With the recent news of a multi-part, Derek Jeter “Last Dance style” documentary coming out in two months, it got me thinking: what parts of Philly sports history deserve to be told in a national spotlight? (It also got me thinking that if Derek Jeter played for any other team but the Yankees, ESPN would have never made this documentary, but my opinion on Jeter is neither here nor there.)

 

 

Not every part of history needs to be told through a multi-part documentary. Not every Philly athlete or team or event is as nationally famous as Derek Jeter or Michael Jordan or the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. But to us, the fans of Philadelphia sports, who have lived through some utter lunacy and even been a part of some of it, these are stories that need to be told.

 

If for nothing else, these stories need to be told just to humor me. In reality, though, for most of these instances I’m about to talk about, I just want raw reactions from people who were directly involved in these events. In some cases, I want to know the truth about what was really happening.

 

Guidelines

 

The guidelines are simple: it can’t be a story that has already been told, and there won’t be any players who already have a documentary.

 

In essence, this eliminates any of the very few championship teams Philly has had, such as the ’08 Phils or ’17 Birds, because everyone knows the story of those teams. It also eliminates Philly folk heroes like Reggie White and Allen Iverson, who already have documentaries that tell the story of their lives.

 

Finally, I wanted to make these compelling stories that the fans would want to know more about. I wanted to do players that were popular when they were here, but truthfully, we didn’t really know much about them. I wanted to do events and games that captured the undivided attention of the city. Without further adieu, in the wise words of the Black Eyed Peas, let’s get it started.

 

#5: Donovan McNabb

 

Coincidental that McNab checks in at #5 on this list, or just amazing planning by the super cool guy writing this? I’ll go with both. McNabb might be one of the most polarizing figures in the history of Philadelphia sports.

 

Despite holding franchise records for just about every quarterback stat, widely being considered the greatest quarterback in the long history of the team, and leading the team to a ton of victories, McNabb doesn’t get very much love. Why is that?

 

Well, part of it could be because McNabb would lead the Birds to the precipice of greatness year after year, only to ultimately fall short every single year. It could also be because McNabb was battling through injuries seemingly every single year of his career. Or, it could just be because McNabb wasn’t very personable with fans despite playing with a ton of personality.

 

Ultimately though, this would be a fun documentary. Think about all the Eagles legends that would be apart of this documentary: Andy Reid, Brian Westbrook, Brian Dawkins, and so on. However, there are two main things I’d want out of a McNabb documentary.

 

First and foremost, I need Terrell Owens and McNabb to talk about their relationship during their careers, and how it’s only gotten worse since then. Think of the style in which ESPN had Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan talking about each other, but so much better. After an incredible season in 2004 where the two hooked up for 1200 yards and 14 touchdowns in just 14 games, they had a very public and contentious relationship that still exists to this day.

 

 

Some of that beef could have stemmed from the second main thing I’d want to see out of this possible documentary: Did Donovan actually puke in the Super Bowl? There have been multiple people who have claimed McNabb did in fact vomit in the huddle during the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl loss, including former teammates Lito Sheppard and John Ritchie.

 

However, McNabb has held steadfast and will seemingly take to his grave that he did not hurl in that game. Even if we wouldn’t get a clear answer from McNabb in this hypothetical doc, I need to see him be asked the question for my own entertainment.

 

#4: Carson Wentz

 

I thought about making this a dual Wentz/Nick Foles documentary, but I figured I’d let Wentz just have one thing without the presence of Foles. First, I’d like to preface this ranking by saying the reason this is as low on the list as this is because I could never in a million years see Wentz doing anything to bring any sort of attention to himself.

 

Even moreso, I don’t think Wentz would ever speak publicly about his real feelings about his time in Philadelphia, much less have a documentary around it. Still, I’d like to pretend.

 

The way i see it, Wentz’s career is broken down in two parts: pre-ACL tear and post-ACL tear. I, quite frankly, would be more interested in a documentary about Wentz’s Eagles career post-ACL tear. Why? Because that’s when everything started to unravel.

 

It was then that Foles famously took over the team en route to a Super Bowl victory. It was then that the whispers about character concerns with Wentz started to arise. It was then that Wentz began to struggle, eventually leading to him wanting out of the organization he had just committed to with a huge contract extension a year prior.

 

At the time of the supposed character concerns, many members of the Birds such as Lane Johnson and Fletcher Cox publicly denied the reports and backed their quarterback. Now, though, as Wentz is about to join his third team in three years, the further removed from the initial report we are, the more the rumors seem to have just an inkling of truth to them.

 

I’d love to see the dynamic of Wentz addressing the rumors of his jealousy as Foles led the team to the promised land. I’d love to see how he would speak of Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman. Most of all, though, I’d love to see what his teammates had to say about him.

 

#3: The Miracles At The Meadowlands

 

Every Eagles fan remembers the improbable victories against the Giants in 1976 and 2010 for Herman Edwards and DeSean Jackson. Each of those wins were labeled as, “The Miracle at the Meadowlands (1 and 2, respectfully).” However, something that would get more attention in this hypothetical documentary would be the other Miracles at the Meadowlands.

 

People legitimately snooze on the other two miracles, even though they were just as cool and just as demoralizing for Giants fans. The first of the forgotten miracles came in 1988, and was arguably the most bonkers of the four.

 

On the final play of the game, the Eagles attempted what would be a game-winning field goal. The kick was blocked by the Giants, but there to scoop it up was Eagles linebacker Clyde Simmons, who then had the presence of mind to rumble into the endzone. Despite the freak out by Giants head coach Bill Parcells, claiming that Simmons couldn’t advance it, the play counted. The reason for this is because the play didn’t occur on fourth down, therefore the blocked field goal could have been picked up by either team and advanced.

 

 

The second unsung Miracle at the Meadowlands came in 2003. With the Eagles down 10-7 with just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Giants would make the first mistake of their punter allowing a dangerous Eagles player to return the kick. Brian Westbrook fielded the punt on the bounce, then scooted down the sideline for the go ahead touchdown. The Eagles would hold onto a 14-10 lead and win the game.

 

 

I think a four part documentary series that gave attention to all four Miracles at the Meadowlands would basically be Eagles fan porn. Getting the heroes of each play, Herman Edwards, Clyde Simmons, Brian Westbrook, and DeSean Jackson, to talk about the play would be phenomenal.

 

However, what would truly make it special is if the documentary had the reactions of members of the Giants at the time. Imagine Joe Pisarcik talking about the inexcusable fumble. Imagine Parcells, still fuming about the play, discussing his emotions as he saw Simmons race into the endzone after the kick was blocked. Imagine Jeff Feagles and Matt Dodge having to explain their thought process as they saw Westbrook and Jackson, respectfully, break through the first wave of punt coverage.

 

Like I said, Eagles fan porn.

 

#2: The Process

 

I almost put this at #1, and I think a lot of you would as well. Out of the five hypothetical documentaries on this list, this certainly has the most potential to actually be an ESPN 30 for 30. There is SO MUCH content to tackle in this documentary, it would definitely be a multi-part series.

 

You have to start where it all began, with the hiring of Sam Hinkie, and the subsequent trades of Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, and others. Then, get into the dog days of the process, and how the Sixers were publicly mocked by the national media for the mere idea of tanking.

 

The doc would go through all the years of losing, $5 tickets, and a mostly empty Wells Fargo Center. We’d get interviews from players that were the “stars” of the process like Ish Smith, Isaiah Canaan, TJ McConnell, and others. Then, they’d get into the good stuff.

 

The documentary would get into the top draft picks that were the future of the franchise, like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz. Subsequently, they’d also get into the utterly freakish injuries each one of their first rounders sustained in the first years of their careers.

 

 

Obviously, the documentary would spend a good amount of time discussing how Fultz went from #1 overall pick to forGETTING HOW TO PLAY BASKETBALL. Not to harp on this too much, but isn’t it certifiably insane how the Sixers drafted point guards with the #1 overall pick in back-to-back years who COULDN’T SHOOT. Sorry, lost it for a second there.

 

Then, they’d discuss what could have been the culmination of the process with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler as Embiid and Simmons were playing like all-stars, only to be robbed by magnetic rims in another country.

 

At this point I think the story ends with the drama of Ben Simmons, which would likely get its own episode. With that being said, I think the end of the story with the Process will end with the final day that Joel Embiid wears a Sixers uniform. Given that Embiid is “The Process,” only then will we know if the Process was a success or not. At this point, the Process lives and dies with Embiid, who should also get his own episode in this hypothetical documentary series.

 

This documentary will be so unbelievably painful, I can’t wait. But why does it feel like I’m forgetting something big that happened in those years?…

 

#1: Burnergate

 

Oh, right.

 

Some of you may be surprised by my top ranking for a Philly Sports based documentary. But c’mon, imagine how AWESOME this would be.

 

For those of you who aren’t well-versed in this story, the basics of it are this. Then Sixers President of Basketball Operations, Jerry Colangelo, who many deem as the murderer of the Process (it’s me, I’m many) hired Bryan Colangelo (blatant nepotism) to be the new general manager of the Sixers after the firing of Sam Hinkie.

 

That’s when this story gets absolutely off-the-rails hilarious. On May 29, 2018, The Ringer posted an article that accused Bryan Colangelo of having five burner accounts on Twitter. Under these fake aliases, the account would critique Joel Embiid, criticize Colangelo’s replacement in Toronto (Masai Ujiri, noted basketball genius), as well as his predecessor in Philly (Hinkie), defend Colangelo’s reputation through the faceless accounts, and, most stupidly, disclose sensitive medical information (downright illegal).

 

Perhaps even most damning in hindsight, is the fact that Colangelo (still talking about Bryan, I know it’s confusing) would use the accounts to drool over Ben Simmons. This was because Simmons was the first draft pick in the Colangelo era, even though neither Colangelo had any sort of impact on the Sixers ending up with that first overall selection.

 

The part of this story that really, truly separates the possibility of this being the most amazing documentary in the history of Philadelphia sports is the fact that members of Sixers Twitter who were the ones to put the nail in the coffin. That’s right, dedicated, die-hard fans of the 76ers were the first ones to crack the code.

 

It was Sixers Adam who went viral for figuring out that three of the five accounts linked to Colangelo all had phone numbers ending in “91.”

 

 

It was Jimmy McCormick and @legsanity that first correctly theorized that one of the accounts, hilariously named “Eric Jr.” belonged to Bryan Colangelo’s wife Barbara Bottini.

 

 

Eventually, it was found that all of the accounts were *officially* linked to Barbera, though it remains obvious that Colangelo (Bryan) was obviously involved. Bryan Colangelo was fired on June 7, 2018, one mere week after the original accusation article from the Ringer was released.

 

Imagine a documentary where the main people interviewed were the detectives from Sixers Twitter. If someone, anyone, was able to pull off this documentary, it would be an automatic must watch for Sixers fans everywhere.

 

(For those who want to read more about this story, here is the full story from Sixers Adam.)

 

 

By Matt Szczypiorski | June 1, 2022
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