Philadelphia Wings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Philadelphia Wings | |
 |
|
| Division | Eastern |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Home arena | Wachovia Center |
| Based in | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Colors | Black, Red, Grey |
| Head coach | Lindsay Sanderson |
| General manager | Lindsay Sanderson |
| PLPA representative | Jeff Ratcliffe |
| Local media | Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia |
| Championships | 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001 |
| Division Championships | 1993 (American), 1994 (American) |
| Website | www.wingslax.com |
The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Wings were one of the original four teams in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League that began play in 1987. The league was renamed to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League in 1989, and again to the National Lacrosse League in 1998. They are the only franchise to have played all 21 seasons in the same city. The Wings have the most titles in the combined league history with 6 total: 4 North American Cups in the MILL era and 2 Champion's Cup since the formation of the NLL.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early Years
The Philadelphia Wings were one of the original four franchises in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, joining the New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder in the premiere season. While the Wings were not an immediate success on the floor, going 3-3 and 3-5 in the first two regular seasons with two playoff losses, there were the biggest draw in the league. They drew an average of almost 12,000 fans to the 3 1987 regular season games, and going slightly over 12,000 fans for the 4 games in 1988.
Their first on field success came in 1989 with a first place 6-2 campaign, ending with their first of a league record 6 titles with a 11-10 win over New York in the Spectrum. The Wings became the first team to repeat with another 6-2 regular season followed by a championship win in Worcester over the New England Blazers. A 5-5 season in 1991 left the Wings in third place in the American Division, 1 game behind the division winners Baltimore and out of the playoffs for the first time in their history, denying them the opportunity for a "threepeat."
[edit] Wings vs. Bandits
In 1992, the MILL expanded to western New York with the Buffalo Bandits. The Bandits were primarily Canadian players from Ontario, while the Wings were still mostly American based, like the rest of the league at the time. The rivalry was instant, as the teams would play each other in 4 of the next 5 title games, interrupted only by the Wings triumph over Rochester in the 1995 season. The Wings struggled in the regular season of 1992, but turned it on in the playoffs to defeat Baltimore and New York and host the Bandits in the championship game. John Tavares would end the Wings quest for their 3rd title with an overtime winner, however.
1993 saw the Wings have a 7-1 season, only to be topped by the Bandits perfect 8-0 season. Both teams dispatched their semifinal opponents, and the rematch was on. The Bandits once again ended the Wings hopes, this time winning a one goal contest in regulation 13-12.
1994 saw both teams top their respective divisions with 6-2 marks, and again both teams dominated the semifinal game to meet for a 3rd consecutive time for the North American Cup. An incredible run by Philadelphia in the middle of the game buried the Bandits hopes of their own threepeat, giving the Wings a 26-15 win and their third title.
The Wings were their same dominating selves in 1995, going 7-1 to finish atop the single table (a structure the league changed back to before the season), while the Bandits uncharacteristically struggled, finishing just 4th in a 6 team league at 3-5. This meant the Wings faced the Bandits in the semifinals, and due to the MILL's "attendance rule" that gave postseason home field advantage to the team with better attendance, the game was played in Buffalo. The Wings proved to be the better team with a 19-16 win on their way to a league high 4th title.
1996 saw the the Bandits return to their prior form, while both teams finishing 8-2 and tied atop the league standings. Once again, the teams found themselves in the final, and the Bandits returned the favor of stopping a threepeat with a dominating 15-10 performance.
1997 would be the first time that the Wings and Bandits would not meet in the playoffs since the Bandits had been introduced in 1992. The Wings won another regular season title with a 7-1 record, but were upset in the semifinals by the eventual champion Rochester Knighthawks.
[edit] NLL era
The league name changed for 1998, but the Wings success wasn't about to. Despite the loss of Gary Gait to the Baltimore Thunder, the Wings still claimed their 4th regular season title in 5 years at 9-3. Once again, the Wings were paired up with their arch-rival Bandits in the semifinal round, and the Wings dispatched the Bandits just as they had in the previous semifinal matchup. The Wings advanced to play the Thunder and Gary Gait in the final round, which was a best 2 of 3 series for the one and only time in league history. The Wings opened the series with a 16-12 victory at home, before sweeping the series with a dominating 17-12 road victory in Baltimore Arena.
1999 saw the end of the heated Wings-Bandits rivalry, as the Bandits started to rebuild and fell to a 4-8 mark, missing the postseason. The Wings also had regular season struggles, finishing at just 5-7 and squeaking into the playoffs as the fourth seed. Wings fans probably wish the team had missed the postseason, as the team was pummeled in a record breaking 13-2 loss to the eventual champion Toronto Rock. 2000 saw the team improve slightly to 7-5 during the season, but it ended the same way, with a semifinal loss in Toronto by a more respectable 14-10 score.
That set up the 2001 season, with the Wings once again seeing their league dominance challenged by a newcomer to the league. The Rock and the Wings did not disappoint, with the Rock going 11-3 and the Wings 10-4 in the regular season, and winning their semifinal games to set up a third straight postseason matchup in Toronto, this time with the title on the line. Unlike the previous two games, the Wings dictated the style of play, and built a 9-4 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Rock finally solved the defensive puzzle. It proved too little, too late, and the Wings claimed their 6th title with a 9-8 upset victory, once again ending the chance at the first league threepeat.
The 2002 season was clearly a transition year for the franchise, as they muddled through a difficult season to finish at 8-8 before falling in a quarterfinal game against the Washington Power. Going into the 2007 season, it would prove to be the last playoff appearance for the proud franchise.
[edit] Rebuilding
The 2003 season saw the Wings start off strongly, but collapse down the stretch as they finished 8-8, and lost the division title to the Colorado Mammoth, missing the postseason for the first time since 1991. It would continue to get worse for the Wings, as the the next two years ended with a last place 7-9 season and a 6-10 2005 season. The rebuilding of the Wings began in earnest in the offseason, as the Wings would have three first round draft picks before the 2006 season, adding Sean Greenhalgh, Luke Wiles, and Chad Thompson.[1] Wiles and Thompson were later dealt for Mike Regan, but Greenhalgh continues to be a key member of the Wings' offense. Despite the added firepower, the Wings saw some improvement, going 8-8 in 2006 but missing the postseason on tiebreakers.
The 2006 draft was again fertile ground for the Wings, adding Geoff Snider, Ian Llord, and Athan Ianucci in the first round[2], and adding Kyle Wailes, another first round pick, through a trade with Calgary. [3]
[edit] Awards and Honors
- Most Valuable Player - Gary Gait (3 times - 1995, 1996, 1997)
- Championship MVP -- Dallas Eliuk (2 times - 1998, 2001)
- Rookie of the Year - Tom Marechek (1994)
- Sportsman of the Year - Sean Greenhalgh (2006)
- Coach of the Year - Tony Resch (2001)
- Executive of the Year - Russ Cline (2001)
- NLL Hall of Fame - Russ Cline, Chris Fritz, Gary Gait [4], Paul Gait[4] (class of 2006); Mike French, Tom Marechek (class of 2007)
- Retired Numbers - Tom Marechek (42 - retired during 2006 season)
[edit] Fan Traditions
Since 1987, Wings fans have supported the team well and have established many traditions of their own. These traditions start right from the national anthem, when fans can be heard making a 'tsch' sound at the end of each line, mocking a recording that was used by the Wings in the early years where the only audible portion of the song was the cymbal crashes. During the introductions of the opposing team, each players' name is followed by a call of "sucks", a tradition that has been extended to the opposing coaches, trainers, and the game officials. Local shot clock operator Joe Fratoni has escaped the sucks cheer, instead being cheered.
During the game, the opposing goalie is often the target of fan's heckling. The most common chant is to remind the goalie 'It's all your fault' after every single goal they allow. More recently, the crowd in some sections have taken to 'beeping' like a truck in reverse any time a goalie backs up.
The grandest tradition of all is the dualing "W-I-N-G-S" cheers. The side of the arena with the penalty boxes have long been led by "Chopper", a Wings superfan with facepaint and a hard hat, well known around the league making opposing players who find their way to the penalty box regret their time there. The bench side has going through many leaders, from "Big Gabe" (father of Scott Gabrielson, a Wings captain in the 1990s) to "Big E" to Chasmo, and now "The Captain" and "Morpheus". While the leader of the chants aren't always the same from year to year, the "W-I-N-G-S WINGS!" cheer hasn't died out at all, and is still prevalent at every game.
Finally, the song "Welcome to the Jungle" has become an anthem of the team, with the song often being played in the last few moments of the game when the Wings need a critical goal or a key defensive stop, and it never fails to get the crowd off their feet and into a frenzy. All of these traditions have made Philadelphia one of the hardest arenas in the NLL for a road team to get a win.
[edit] Roster
|
|
[edit] All time Record
| Season | Division | W-L | Finish | Home | Road | GF | GA | Coach | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 3-3 | 2nd | 2-1 | 1-2 | 86 | 82 | Steve Wey | Lost in semifinals | |
| 1988 | 3-5 | 3rd | 2-2 | 1-3 | 97 | 90 | Steve Wey | Lost in semifinals | |
| 1989 | 6-2 | 1st | 4-0 | 2-2 | 122 | 96 | Dave Evans | Won Championship | |
| 1990 | 6-2 | 2nd | 3-1 | 3-1 | 89 | 82 | Dave Evans | Won Championship | |
| 1991 | American | 5-5 | 3rd | 3-2 | 2-3 | 129 | 131 | Dave Evans | Missed playoffs |
| 1992 | American | 3-5 | 2nd | 1-3 | 2-2 | 106 | 109 | Dave Evans | Lost Championship |
| 1993 | American | 7-1 | 1st | 4-0 | 3-1 | 121 | 86 | Dave Evans | Lost Championship |
| 1994 | American | 6-2 | 1st | 4-0 | 2-2 | 127 | 89 | Mike French | Won Championship |
| 1995 | 7-1 | 1st | 4-0 | 3-1 | 115 | 94 | Tony Resch | Won Championship | |
| 1996 | 8-2 | T-1st | 4-1 | 4-1 | 165 | 114 | Tony Resch | Lost Championship | |
| 1997 | 7-3 | 1st | 3-2 | 4-1 | 137 | 115 | Tony Resch | Lost in semifinals | |
| 1998 | 9-3 | 1st | 3-3 | 6-0 | 166 | 148 | Tony Resch | Won Championship | |
| 1999 | 5-7 | 4th | 4-2 | 1-5 | 153 | 153 | Tony Resch | Lost in semifinals | |
| 2000 | 7-5 | 4th | 4-2 | 3-3 | 172 | 165 | Tony Resch | Lost in semifinals | |
| 2001 | 10-4 | 2nd | 6-1 | 4-3 | 205 | 177 | Tony Resch | Won Championship | |
| 2002 | Eastern | 8-8 | 2nd | 6-2 | 2-6 | 222 | 237 | Adam Mueller | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| 2003 | Eastern | 8-8 | 2nd | 6-2 | 2-6 | 203 | 209 | Adam Mueller | Missed playoffs |
| 2004 | Eastern | 7-9 | 4th | 3-5 | 4-4 | 192 | 198 | Adam Mueller | Missed playoffs |
| 2005 | Eastern | 6-10 | 4th | 3-5 | 3-5 | 213 | 218 | Lindsay Sanderson | Missed playoffs |
| 2006 | Eastern | 8-8 | 5th | 5-3 | 3-5 | 184 | 184 | Lindsay Sanderson | Missed playoffs |
| Total | 20 seasons | 129-93 | 74-37 | 55-56 | 3,004 | 2,777 | |||
| Playoff Totals | 16-9 | 10-4 | 6-5 | 327 | 292 |
[edit] Playoff Results
| Season | Game | Visiting | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Semifinals | Washington 20 | Philadelphia 15 |
| 1988 | Semifinals | Philadelphia 10 | New Jersey 12 |
| 1989 | Championship | New York 10 | Philadelphia 11 |
| 1990 | Semifinals | New York 8 | Philadelphia 9 |
| Championship | Philadelphia 17 | New England 7 | |
| 1992 | Division Semifinal | Baltimore 12 | Philadelphia 14 |
| Division Final | Philadelphia 8 | New York 6 | |
| Championship | Buffalo 11 | Philadelphia 10 (OT) | |
| 1993 | Division Final | New York 9 | Philadelphia 17 |
| Championship | Philadelphia 12 | Buffalo 13 | |
| 1994 | Division Final | New York 7 | Philadelphia 17 |
| Championship | Philadelphia 26 | Buffalo 15 | |
| 1995 | Semifinals | Philadelphia 19 | Buffalo 16 |
| Championship | Rochester 14 | Philadelphia 15 OT | |
| 1996 | Semifinals | Boston 8 | Philadelphia 10 |
| Championship | Philadelphia 10 | Buffalo 15 | |
| 1997 | Semifinals | Rochester 15 | Philadelphia 13 |
| 1998 | Semifinals | Buffalo 12 | Philadelphia 17 |
| Championship (Game 1) | Baltimore 12 | Philadelphia 16 | |
| Championship (Game 2) | Philadelphia 17 | Baltimore 12 | |
| 1999 | Semifinals | Philadelphia 2 | Toronto 13 |
| 2000 | Semifinals | Philadelphia 10 | Toronto 14 |
| 2001 | Semifinals | Rochester 11 | Philadelphia 12 |
| Championships | Philadelphia 9 | Toronto 8 | |
| 2002 | Quarterfinals | Washington 12 | Philadelphia 11 |
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Philly, R.A. (August 29, 2005). Brodie Merrill joins brother as #1 draft picks. Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Retrieved on March 16, 2007.
- ^ Philly, R.A. (September 13, 2006). Stealth doubles up with Benesch, Sorensen atop draft. Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Retrieved on March 16, 2007.
- ^ Philly, R.A. (December 16, 2006). Wings trade for Wailes, wait on Snider. Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Retrieved on March 16, 2007.
- ^ a b These players were not inducted into the Hall of Fame as Wings, but played a part of their career in Philadelphia.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by New Jersey Saints |
Major Indoor Lacrosse League Champions 1989,1990 |
Succeeded by Detroit Turbos |
| Preceded by Buffalo Bandits |
Major Indoor Lacrosse League Champions 1994,1995 |
Succeeded by Buffalo Bandits |
| Preceded by Rochester Knighthawks (MILL) |
National Lacrosse League Champions 1998 |
Succeeded by Toronto Rock |
| Preceded by Toronto Rock |
National Lacrosse League Champions 2001 |
Succeeded by Toronto Rock |
| National Lacrosse League | |
|---|---|
| East Division: Buffalo Bandits | Chicago Shamrox | Minnesota Swarm | New York Titans | Philadelphia Wings | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock | |
| West Division: Arizona Sting | Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | Edmonton Rush | Portland LumberJax | San Jose Stealth | |
| NLL Awards: Champion's Cup | Most Valuable Player | Rookie of the Year | Defenseman of the Year | Goaltender of the Year | Sportsmanship Award | Les Bartley Award | GM of the Year | Executive of the Year | Tom Borrelli Award | Weekly Awards | Monthly Awards | |
| NLL Articles: All-Star Game | Players' Association | Family relations | Hall of Fame | Season reviews | Former teams | |
| Related Articles: Box lacrosse | Lacrosse | Major League Lacrosse | |
