Rendell: What we fans can be thankful for this season

IT'S THANKSGIVING time and this holiday gives us time to reflect on all the good things in our lives. We all spend far too much time complaining about what's wrong with them. So let's take a shot at this from this Philly sports fan's perspective.

First, I'm thankful I live in Philadelphia. We may not have had many parades lately but things are looking up, and besides, you can't even get a half-decent cheesesteak in any other city.

I'm also thankful to live here because no other city has four major sports teams and six division one college basketball teams (a sport I truly love). On that note, I'm thankful for our NCAA champion Villanova Wildcats and their coach Jay Wright, who is arguably the best coach in America - and certainly the best dressed!

I'm thankful for Carson Wentz, who, despite a few recent hiccups, is surely a franchise quarterback who will make the Eagles contenders for the next decade and beyond. Hopefully, next year, I'll be thankful for all the offensive weapons that Howie Roseman magically finds to surround him with.

I'm thankful that the Phillies finally committed to rebuilding and that it's working. They now have a cadre of good, young starting pitchers and if they get some bullpen help, they will be in contention for many years to come, because pitching is still the name of the game.

I'm thankful that we now have a "Ghost" in town, who, along with up-and-coming stars such as Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, will bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Broad Street.

And, yes, I'm thankful for "The Process," because it brought the 76ers Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Jalhil Okafor, among others. Embiid will soon be one of the five best players in the NBA, and Simmons is a special talent. So drink a toast and give thanks that Sam Hinkie once walked among us (quietly).

And, finally, I'm thankful that I am part of the best fan base in America. Sure, we may have bombarded Santa Claus with snowballs, but, in our defense, he was as scruffy looking a Santa as ever trod our streets. And then there was the time we spontaneously broke into an "Alpo, Alpo, Alpo" chant when the Eagles fell behind in what became a 42-3 loss to the Rams, only days after coach Mike McCormack noted there were a number of "dogs" on the team.

But all kidding aside, there's simply no other place where the fans live and die by the fate of their teams as we do here, and that makes it great to be a fan here. There's a special bond between the fans that's almost indescribable - as if we're all going down on the Titanic together over and over again (most of the time).

So, enjoy this Thanksgiving weekend and, most of all, give thanks that you live in a country where anyone - and I mean anyone - can grow up to be president!

@GovEdRendell