2024 is coming to an end. It was another wild year for Philly Sports. Both in good ways, but also in some very bad ways. There was more regular-season joy, but also more playoff disappointment. We had big debuts, catastrophic injuries, and multiple collapses that left us heartbroken as a fanbase. So basically it was a typical year for the average Philly Sports fan.
Related: Why I Don’t Blame Joel Embiid: Leave Family Out Of It
With the year wrapping up, The Fantic did an experiment. Employees, both on the mic and behind the scenes, were all asked to come up with their 10 biggest storylines of the year from Philly sports, ranking them from 10 to 1.
Some people (you know who you are) did not follow directions and did not rank their stories. One person, who happened to pitch in the Major Leagues in the past gave his biggest storylines for each team but didn’t rank them 10 to 1. But I won’t call them out by name.
Most people did follow the instructions, and by the end, we had about 30 lists. I compiled those lists, did a little math, and came up with a democratic answer to what were the 10 biggest storylines of the year. Anything that was ranked number 1 got 10 points, number 2 got 9 points, and so on. By the end, we had a definitive list of which stories were the biggest in Philly Sports this past year.
So what was the biggest storyline of 2024? Was is the drama between Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts from over the summer? Was it the Phillies’ quick playoff exit? What about the Eagles’ quick playoff exit from last season? Where did the debut and fast start by rookie phenom Matvei Michkov rank? Find out below.
The list will also air as a 1 hour special on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at 5 pm. It was narrated by the great Amy Fadool, with audio from throughout the year.
Here Are The 10 Biggest Philly Sports Stories From 2024:
Honorable Mentions
Obviously, not everyone had the same 10 stories on their list. So here are a few that got a few votes, but did not get enough to crack the top 10. So here are a few honorable mentions before we get to the top 10.
- 76ers Arena Debate
- Zack Wheeler Signs A New Deal, Pitches Like a Cy Young
- Carter Hart Arrested
- Haason Reddick Traded
- Union Fire Head Coach Jim Curtin
- Cutter Gauthier Forces A Trade
- Bryce Harper Break Slump With 3 HR Game
- Joel Embiid Scores 70 Points In A Game
- Tyrese Maxey Makes It to His First All-Star Game
10) Sixers Lose To The Knicks In The Playoffs- (19 Votes)
The Sixers 2023-2024 season started out as well as you could hope. Joel Embiid, coming off winning MVP, looked even better. He dropped 70 in a game and was averaging over a point per minute.
But then disaster struck. A meniscus injury kept him out for most of the rest of the season. They were 31-8 when he played, but 16-27 without him. Embiid came back by the end of the year, but it was not enough to get out of the Play-in Tournament. But they managed to get through that, and hopes were high that they could get past the Knicks in the playoffs.
Those hopes were dashed in 6 games. While Embiid and Maxey played great, the rest of the team was not so great. The Sixers didn’t even last long enough to get their usual 2nd round exit. Not to mention we had to deal with Knicks fans taking over our own building.
It was an ugly end to an ugly season, that at one point had so much hope.
9) Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox Retire (33 Votes)
Eagles fans have been lucky to have two Hall of Fame-level players for the past 13 years. Jason Kelce, drafted in 2011, and Fletcher Cox drafted in 2012. Those two, along with Brandon Graham, were the last remaining players from the Andy Reid era. They lasted through Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson, and Nick Sirianni. They were part of the only team to win a Super Bowl in Eagles history. But in the same off-season, they both called it a career.
First Jason Kelce, in a tear-filled press conference, and then later Fletcher Cox, in a slightly more subdued one. Two huge leaders on the two sides of the ball, leaving at the same time. There were questions about how the Eagles would survive losing two leaders. But there is not question that they are two of the greatest Eagles of all time.
9) Phillies Great Start, Winning NL East For First Time Since 2011 (43 Points)
We will get to the way the season ended, but the start of the season was magical. A rotation putting up historical numbers, a lineup near the top of the league, and a shutdown bullpen.
Going into the All-Star Break, the Phillies were on top of the world, having just recently swept the Dodgers. From April 5th to mid-July, the Phillies won or tied 23 of their 28 series. They were 28 games over .500. But then August got ugly. September was a bit better, still not as good as they were earlier though. But they had built up such a big lead, that the NL East crown was never truly in doubt.
They took home the NL East Pennant for the first time since 2011. But going into the playoffs the feeling around the team was nowhere near as good as it was back in July.
7) Eagles Get Blown Out By The Bucs In The Playoffs (46 Points)
Most of the 2023 collapse was not eligible for this list. The 10-1 start, to the 11-6 finish, mostly all happened in 2023. But the end of it all, the playoff game vs the Bucs, fell in 2024.
They drew a 9-7 Bucs team that only made the playoffs because of how bad the NFC South was. But the Eagles had been even worse, and it showed on that night. The Eagles got embarrassed down in Tampa Bay. They lost 32-9. That 32 for Tampa included a Safety that might be the worst play of Jalen Hurts career. They were lifeless and showed no fight at all. It was way many didn’t believe Nick Sirianni would be back. But we will get to that part of the story later in this list.
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
