What a wacky weekend for Philadelphia sports fans: Watching the Mets pathetically collapse as the Phillies make the playoffs; seeing Gov. Sarah Palin jump on the Phils' bandwagon and wear a Flyers cap; witnessing the Eagles get jobbed by the refs and make some bad decisions against Chicago; and bidding farewell to The Spectrum, as the Philadelphia Flyers played their final game ever in the storied arena. (Ed Note: Leahy correctly points out that the Flyers and Phatoms will face off at the arena on Oct. 7.)
Hockey writers Ed Moran and Chuck Gormley offered their take on the festivities; NHL.com had a solid rundown of Saturday's emotional journey, including a ceremony that featured former Flyers captains.
Well, nearly all but one former captain: Eric Lindros couldn't attend, but did send this heartfelt video tribute to the old barn, calling Flyers fans "the best fans in professional sports." Obviously not a WIP listener. Then again, he has his reasons for that.
More video from the event follows; but the real question today is about a potential name change for the Flyers' current arena. Do Philadelphia fans want to share a name with the Mets?
First, here's terrific fan-made video that shows Flyers owner Ed Snider handing the captaincy over to Mike Richards:
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But what about the naming rights to the Flyers' current arena? Matt P from The 700 Level is losing it right now because Citigroup is taking over Wachovia. There's a chance that the arena could be renamed after Citi ... just like the Mets' new ballpark up in New York.
Not cool if you're a Philly fan, obviously.
But as Matt pointed out, this name change isn't a certainty despite the sale. From Philly.com:
Comcast Spectacor's naming-rights deal is with Wachovia Corp., which will remain in business as owner of Evergreen mutual funds and Prudential and A.G. Edwards stock brokerage.
But Citigroup will take over most of the assets of Wachovia Bank, including more than 200 branches, and replace Wachovia as Philadelphia's top bank, raising the possibility Citi may want the naming rights if Wachovia wants out and Comcast-Spectacor is agreeable
