Small Sample Size Indicates Eagles Will be Next to Win World Title

A Twitter poll asked which of the Philly big four professional teams will deliver the next championship to the city

PHILADELPHIA – Who’s got next?

It’s a question that gets asked a lot in Philadelphia since there always seem to be long droughts between world championships at the professional level.

So it was that question, only a little more detailed, that I created on Twitter.

It’s called a poll, and it was the second one I’ve ever done, which makes me new to the poll world.

Twitter’s a weird place, as all of you know.

With more than 8,000 followers I thought I’d get at least 1,000 people who would vote.

As it was, 682 Twitterers cast a vote.

That makes this particular poll what would probably be called a small sample size.

Still, a fun and interesting small sample.

The question: Which Philly sports team will be the next one to deliver a championship?

The Big Four were the choices, but apparently, that wasn’t enough.

Many Twitterers asked if they could write in the Union. I didn’t know the Union was that popular. Shame on me.

At the risk of drawing the ire of some, I sort of considered them on the same level as Drexel when it comes to the Big Five. Drexel isn’t included among those five schools so the term City Six was created.

Perhaps there is now a Philly Five that needs to be considered.

Speaking of the Big Five, on Twitter commenter asked if Villanova can be a write-in vote.

Villanova basketball coach and Hall of Fame inductee Jay Wright has won two national titles / USA Today

Some of the responses to the poll gave me a chuckle.

John DeStefano tweeted: “Can I write in I will probably be six feet under when it happens?”

The FireHowie account tweeted: “The Iron Pigs.”

Intimidator21 tweeted: “Is there a team that hasn’t yet been formed coming to Philly?”

And CroPat showed how he feels about the Eagles when he responded: “If it’s the Eagles, it’s going to be a long drought.”

Yet, it was the Eagles who brought the city its last professional championship just four years ago.

The Phillies, of course, did it in 2008.

If you are 38 years old or younger, you have yet to witness a Sixers championship.

Maybe you heard about Moses Malone’s “fo-fo-fo” prediction or seen grainy highlights of Dr. J’s gravity-defying fights to the hoop, and Mo Cheeks’ true point guard skills on full display from the Sixers' 1983 title.

The Flyers’ championship drought is even longer. They last won the Stanly Cup when sideburns were cool, in 1975.

So, who’s got next?

According to the poll, the Eagles will win the next title, receiving 52.5 percent of the vote.

I have to say I was surprised by that given how down and negative fans seem to be about their football team following a 4-11-1 season.

Apparently, some see more hope than others.

Brian Heffron aka The Blue Meanie tweeted: “There’s an energy to Sirianni that I really like. People goof on him but I have a gut feeling they will do some great stuff this year. I have nothing to base it on but I’m excited.”

READ MORE: My Birthday Gift for Nick Sirianni - Sports Illustrated

The Sixers were second with 27.6 percent of the vote, needing a late surge to get above the 25 percent they hovered near the first 18 hours or so of the 24-hour run the poll had on Twitter.

Of course, fans may be down on the Sixers, too, after their crushing seven-game flameout to the Atlanta Hawks. If this poll would have run last summer, the Sixers probably would have received more first-place votes.

The Phillies were dead-last with 7.2 percent of the votes. Another surprise to me.

The Flyers got 12.8 percent of the vote to finish third, prompting another laugh from Jobst_PhillyEagles to tweet: “The 14 percent (he voted early) who voted Flyers are really delusional people who deserve a hug.”

Which Philly sports team will be the next one to deliver a championship (alphabetical order)?

— Ed Kracz (@kracze) June 21, 2021

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.