Eric Lindros Perfectly Explains Why Its Great To Play In Philadelphia
Flyers legend Eric Lindros joined the John Kincade show Thursday morning to discuss the Flyers alumni game, which he will be playing in. Most of the conversation centered around the differences in playing back in the 90’s to playing in todays game. But the last question was centered around Ben Simmons.
The Simmons situation looks at a debate which has been talked about often. Nature vs nurture. Does Philadelphia eat their young. At the end of the day some athletes simply love it here and some just arent built for our brutally honest feedback, yet undying passion and support. One person who saw both sides was Eric Lindros.
Lindros came here as the savior of the franchise, and he delivered. He won an MVP, and led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately his Flyers team lost to the Red Wings, but Lindros solidified his Hall of Fame career right here in Philly. But the relationship between Lindros and the fans started to muddy. Thanks to then GM Bobby Clark, Clark was able to manipulate the fan base to turn on everyone’s favorite player. Towards the end of his Flyers tenure, fans couldn’t wait to watch him go. Lindros was ultimately traded to the Rangers in 2001 for Pavel Brendl, Jan Hlavek, and Kim Johnsson.
But time heals all wounds. In 2012 Lindros was invited by the Flyers to join them at practice as the team was in Toronto. He played for the Flyers during the alumni game at the Winter Classic, and the love between Flyers fans and Lindros is back. So like Simmons, Lindros dealt with heavy critique during his days in Philly, and here is how he dealt with it;
“Its better to play in an environment where the fans are educated. Everyone’s complaining about coming to Montreal or coming to Toronto in the NHL and its hard. And im not going to say its easy. But the fans in Philadelphia are educated. And Id rather be playing in front of educated people that are engaged and invested in the success of your team as opposed to Arizona. So I look at Philly as…its not an Original 6 club but you certainly cant tell. The fans here are fantastic.”
We asked @88EricLindros about the Ben Simmons situation and the pressures of playing in Philly & his answer was perfect! pic.twitter.com/ELI5KLQjxT
— The John Kincade Show (@975JKShow) November 4, 2021
For the full interview listen below!
