It’s a crazy thing about the current generation of Philly-area kids: they think our teams are supposed to be good. And more often than not, they’re right.

It’s a marked change from the mindset of past generations of Philly sports fans. People my age were born into a city that had seen some success on the basketball court and the hockey rink, but in the sports that loomed the largest in the city’s consciousness, we had known only near brushes with victory, never the real thing.

The Phillies triumph in the 1980 World Series was monumental, but it wasn’t long before the team was lousy again, run by owners who couldn’t or wouldn’t attract the best players. For the Eagles, the story was even grimmer: following the loss in Super Bowl XV, there were long years of striving but not achieving that ultimate goal.

In a city that, like many Northern industrial cities, was seeing declines in population and jobs and rises in crime and poverty, sports could have been a bright spot. Instead, it reflected the chip-on-the-shoulder misery of the average fan. New York teams would win. Los Angeles teams would win. But not us. “Long-suffering” described the average Philadelphian, and not just in sports fandom.

Things are changing for the region. Sports can not only reflect that but even spur it forward. Philadelphia has become more than a place people can’t wait to flee. If our politics is still the old “corrupt and contented” of Lincoln Steffens’s immortal phrase, our civic culture is rebounding in spite of it all. From the Phillies’ 2008 championship to the Eagles’ Super Bowl victories in 2018 — and now in 2025 — our biggest, most-loved pro sports franchises reflect a city that doesn’t need or even want the miserable attitude that once characterized us.

Last night’s epic victory was not just a win. It was a triumph. A thrashing. A shellacking that was far more one-sided than even the 40-22 score suggests. And even before kickoff, there was a joyful — dare I say, confident — attitude across the city. For the first time in the Eagles’ 90-plus years of existence, our fans could act like we’d been there before.

All the pieces were in place. Offensive line, defensive line, quarterback, receivers, secondary. Rookies joined the team and contributed far more than anyone had any right to expect from first-year players. And then: Saquon.

The Giants’ refusal to re-sign their best player was already a gift from the football gods, but his coming here, to a division rival, to his home region and home state, that too seems serendipitous. But it wasn’t — it was, instead, the result of the culture of winning that the Eagles players, coaches, and owner have built up over the past decade. We used to be a team that lost players to free agency; now, star players come here because they want to win.

Saquon’s record-breaking season is the symbol of his greatness, and the greatness of the offensive line and the rest of the team around him. But it is also the banner of a new day, just as Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto signing with the Phillies signals a new day for Phillies baseball. 

Philadelphia is a winner’s town now.

The first time I visited Chicago some twenty years ago, as I walked around their downtown and the neighborhood around Wrigley Field I thought, “this is a lot like Philly, except they like themselves.” It’s a confidence that comes from being the biggest, most important city for hundreds of miles around. Philadelphia, forever in New York’s shadow, never had that. But in the past decade, we’ve started, little by little, to build it up.

Sports isn’t real life, you might say, but the feelings and vibes that make up a civic culture are strongly influenced by what those men do on the field of play. Every time your hear someone casually drop a “go birds” into the conversation — Philly’s version of aloha — you’re hearing a people being lifted up by the success of those players.

Talk is cheap, vibes can shift, but this run of sustained success is starting to change the tone in the region. My son was born the day after the 2018 NFC championship; the first game of his young life was an Eagles Super Bowl win. Now, he’s old enough to experience a second one — as much football fan success as his relatives two generations older have seen. The youth of today think — know — that Philadelphia teams can win. Can the rest of the city be far behind?

Kyle Sammin is the managing editor of Broad + Liberty.