The Top Ten Best.....and Worst.... Professional Philadelphia Athletes of my Lifetime

          Welcome to the Philly Phanatic! Being a Philadelphia sports fan is one of my greatest passions, so this blog will be dealing with the endless drama, craziness, heartbreak, and glory (but mostly heartbreak) that all come along with being a Philadelphia fan. For the most part, my posts will deal with up to date events and issues, but for the grand opening of my blog, I feel it is appropriate to give all my readers a feeling of what it is like to be a Philly fan in my lifetime, and a taste of my opinions of Philly sports up to this point. In order to do this, I am going to list who I believe are the top ten Philadelphia professional athletes of my lifetime, and why I feel this way. Furthermore, it wouldn't be a true work of Philly fanhood if there wasn't any complaining or nastiness, so I am also going to list who I believe are the ten WORST Philly professional athletes of my lifetime. But first, here is my list, from 10 to 1, of Philly's greatest athletes of my lifetime.

THE TOP PHILADELPHIA ATHLETES OF MY LIFETIME                            

Honorable Mentions: 
       a) Terrell Owens: A member of the Eagles' 2004 Super Bowl Losers, he had potential to go down in history as one of the greatest Eagles' receivers, and a part of possibly one of the best QB-WR pairs in history, McNabb-Owens. Unfortunately, "TO" is a clown, and only brings destruction to every team of which he is a member.
       b) John Kruk: He would be a good candidate for my list, if it weren't for these words that came from his own mouth: "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player." Gotta love Kruk.


10.  David Akers: Yes, he's a kicker. But a damn good one. He is the leading scorer in the Eagles' history. I can only recall one year when he was not reliable, when he was injured all of the season, and linebacker Mark Simoneau had to come in and kick extra points.

9.  Eric Lindros: Not going to lie, I'm not a hockey fan. But he's the best one I know of.

8. Brian Westbrook: A great running back for the Eagles. Also, very good as a receiver. Definitely one of the most dangerous offensive weapons for the Eagles' Super Bowl year.

7. Curt Schilling: Great pitcher for the Phils in the 90s. Ranks in the top ten for many all-time pitching categories.

6. Roy Halladay: Yes, he's only been with us for one season now, which has held me back from mentioning many other athletes. But this season was unreal. A 2.44 ERA, a perfect game, a postseason no-hitter, and a unanimous Cy Young award. The man is unreal. I can't wait to see him pitch alongside Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and yes, Cliff Lee. Trust me, you will be hearing about this pitching combo a lot more in the near future. Also note that I would rank him much higher if he had been with the Phillies for a few more seasons.

5. Chase Utley: Not necessarily a flashy player, but one of the most consistent. A critical member of the 2008 World Series team. Definitely one of the best second baseman around these days. Also a fan favorite, particularly with the ladies.

4. Ryan Howard: Another amazing member of the 2008 World Series Champions. Winner of the 2005 Rookie of the Year and the 2006 NL MVP, Howard has had an outstanding baseball career to this point. His only downfall is the amount of times he strikes out, but the man can crush a baseball.

3. Brian Dawkins: I can not think of any other athlete that plays with more heart and soul than B-Dawk. He truly was an amazing player for the Eagles for so many years, and his intensity will never be matched. By far my favorite Eagles player, ever.

2. Donovan McNabb: Sure, it didn't end to well with Donovan, but there is no denying what he did for the Eagles franchise. Along with Andy Reid, he put the team on his back and carried them out of the abyss that was the 90's for all Philly sports. Too bad he couldn't take the pressure of being a Philly athlete in the Super Bowl, and was on the sidelines throwing up as the final seconds of the Eagles' loss ticked off the clock.

1. Allen Iverson: I think that AI is a no-brainer choice #1. He truly is an amazingly gifted basketball player, and did great things for the Sixers' franchise, in its short bout of greatness. No matter how controversial he was, particularly when dealing with "practice", Iverson will go down in Philly sports history.

THE WORST PHILLY ATHLETES OF MY LIFETIME

10. Winston Justice: It's time for him to go. Poor Michael Vick can't get any time in the pocket. Thank god he has superhuman athletic ability.

9.Wes Helms: Didn't contribute whatsoever to an otherwise good Phillies team. 2 years, 16 million dollars wasted.

8. Rod Barajas: See description above. Thank god for Carlos Ruiz.

7. Greg Lewis: Surprised to say that he is the only Eagle to have a TD reception in the Super Bowl. Otherwise, he's trash.

6. Todd Pinkston: I had to deal with too many years of him being an Eagles' starting receiver. Check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls794MhIkU4

5. Adam Eaton: 3 years, $24 million of pain. I can't believe he has a World Series Ring.

4. Jose Mesa: Miserable pitcher.

3. Samuel Dalembert: The Haitian Sensation. Not much of a sensation for the Sixers.

2. Pat Burrell: This is a very tough thing to do. One of the most controversial Philadelphia athletes. I have a love-hate relationship with him. He was a crucial member of the 2008 World Series team, with a clutch double in Game 5. But he has such an interesting personality. Pat the Bat is recognized as one of the biggest, laziest jerks in Philadelphia. I have plenty of stories about him, but they would not be appropriate for this setting. Oh by the way, he batted 1 for 27 in the World Series, and had a very lackluster career, even though he is one of the greatest college baseball players in history.

1. Freddie Mitchell: Fred-Ex. 4th and 26. The People's Champ. What a jackass.