Failure™ Magazine

Philadelphia Phillies: Loss Leaders

Philly Phanatics create Celebrate10000.com to commemorate 10,000 Phillies’ defeats.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Sports

In sports, teams occasionally go from “worst to first,” finishing last one season and first the next. But the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies are destined to be “first to worst”—the first professional sports franchise to suffer 10,000 defeats. While the Phillies aren’t the only Major League Baseball club approaching 10,000 losses—the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds have all lost more than 9,300 contests each—it’s still a dubious distinction, a milestone that the Phillies organization would prefer to ignore.

Yet, Charley DeBow, Andrew Deck and Gautham Chowdry—co-founders of Celebrate10000.com—refuse to let such a historic occasion pass unnoticed. Recently this trio of lifelong Phillies “Phans” launched the Web site to, in the words of DeBow, “honor the fans who have endured painful, losing seasons, year after year.”

DeBow, 28, developed the idea for Celebrate10000.com back on January 13 following the Philadelphia Eagles’ 27-24 divisional playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints. “I was in a bad mood because the Eagles had lost, and suddenly I remembered that the Phillies were going to lose their 10,000th game during the 2007 season. I said, ‘We should make a toast,’ and a few beers later it was, ‘Hey, let’s start a Web site,’” he recalls.

While DeBow admits Celebrate10000.com was born out of frustration, he denies it is designed to portray the Phillies in an unfavorable light. “On the face of it, the Web site looks like I’m trying to be negative—that stereotypical Philadelphian who has nothing nice to say,” relates DeBow, referring to the reputation of Philly sports fans, who are perceived to be the most cantankerous, hard-to-please fans in the country. “Celebrate10000.com was created to celebrate the folks who will be standing by the Phillies even as they become the losingest team in professional sports history,” he insists.

But DeBow can understand how the uninitiated might question his motives, especially when one considers certain isolated incidents that reflect poorly on Philly fans as a whole. During the 1999 NFL draft Eagles fans booed lustily after the organization selected QB Donovan McNabb second overall, a rude reception for a quarterback expected to be the franchise’s savior. Later the same year a fan (or two) hurled batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew, who had been drafted by the Phillies but chose to sign with the Cards instead. Then, in October of 1999 Eagles fans cheered as Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin lay motionless on the turf of Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, having suffered what would turn out to be a career-ending cervical spinal cord injury.

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