Villanova - and Philly - deserve a parade if Wildcats win

I love a parade, the tramping of feet,

I love every beat I hear of a drum.

I love a parade, when I hear a band I just want to stand and cheer as they come.

That rat-a-tat-tat!

The flair of a horn!

That rat-a-tat-tat!

A bright uniform!

THOSE LYRICS came from a song written by Ted Koehler in 1931 as part of the Cotton Club Show "Rhythmania." Having not seen the show, I don't know what it was referring to, but it sure does fit us here in Philadelphia. We love a parade. We seem to love parades more than most cities.

Why? I'm not exactly sure, but maybe because for the longest time, we were parade-starved.

When the Sixers won the World Championship in 1983, led by the unforgettable chant of Moses Malone - "fo-fo-fo" - we had a great parade, and the Sixers subsequently went down to visit President Reagan. Owner Howard Katz informed the president that he and the Sixers were much alike because they were both "strong on defense."

Then, the drought began. It dragged on for year after year until the Sixers again rose up and were led by the incredible Allen Iverson, who took theh Sixers to the NBA Finals in 2001. They stunned the powerful Lakers in Game 1 in Los Angeles. They led Game 2 at the half, then just got worn down and lost four straight.

Four years later (22 years into the drought) Andy Reid's high-flying Eagles, led by the irrepressible Terrell Owens, charged into the Super Bowl and left it all on the field (a little vomit included), only to come up just a bit short.

Finally, after 25 long and agonizing years, the drought ended, thanks to Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, et. al. We had a whopper of a parade, with nearly 2 million people cheering on the Fightins as they traversed down Broad Street.

But the gods made certain that Philadelphia would not become the next Boston. In fact, it is fair to say that maybe no city in America with all four major pro sports teams has suffered a worse drought with worse overall records. The fans became crazed at the thought of another quarter century of championship starvation.

In 2004, there was a brief glimmer of hope with the Philadelphia-trained horse, the great Smarty Jones. He came out of nowhere to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, setting a record for margin of victory in the Preakness. Smarty appeared to be a can't-miss Triple Crown winner. Even the brilliant sports writer Dick Jerardi told me, "Governor, there is no way Smarty could possibly lose." So, with thousands of Philadelphians joining me I went up to see the Belmont Stakes.

Before the race began, I was besieged by Philadelphians who were asking me whether we would have a parade for Smarty if he won the Triple Crown. I was stunned. Did they actually think we would take a horse worth tens of millions of dollars and put him on a flatbed truck? Or perhaps they wanted to have Smarty trot down Broad Street, hopefully avoiding all the potholes. The race began, Smarty roared to the front and had a four-length lead at the top of the stretch. He had never been passed in any race, but a long shot named Birdstone nipped him at the wire. No parade necessary.

Fast-forward to earlier this week. I was on my way into town, listening, as I almost always do, to Angelo Cataldi's radio show, and a debate was raging about whether the city should have a parade if Villanova wins the national championship. A few fans of the other Big 5 teams said no, because they aren't a city team. That prompted me to call in and say that this logic made no sense.

I remember watching the 1985 title game and listening to the announcer say, "Today's final pits the Georgetown Hoyas of Washington, D.C., vs. the Villanova Wildcats of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

For better or worse - and I think it's definitely for better - Villanova is identified as "Philadelphia" and forever will be part of the Big 5, a loose association of college teams that no other city in America can match.

So the bottom line is that my advice to Mayor Kenney (who is off to a great start) is that if the 'Cats do win it all, he should call Jay Wright on Tuesday morning and say we want a parade down Broad Street on Wednesday.

Now, none of this is meant to jinx Villanova. I am pulling for them as hard as I can, because they are a great team of players who just don't quit and play with an intensity rarely seen. They also have a leader in Wright, a great coach and a classy human being. I was touched by the fact that in his postgame interview, no less than two minutes after the final buzzer against Kansas, he took a moment to recognize the families of three former players. Amazing that, at a time like that, his thoughts were on them.

@GovEdRendell