In Philadelphia, no playoff atmosphere at all

Thirty-five years ago on tax day, this town was the envy of sports fans across the country.

The Flyers, with memories of their consecutive Stanley Cup titles still fresh, were on their way back to the finals after putting together a record 35-game unbeaten streak during the regular season.

The 76ers, with Julius Erving in his prime, were a couple of weeks away from ousting the hated Boston Celtics from the Eastern Conference finals and returning to the NBA Finals for the second time in four years.

The Phillies, with future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, were off to a slow April start, but they'd recover and win the franchise's first World Series.

The Eagles, with Dick Vermeil's system firmly in place, were five months removed from beginning a run to the Super Bowl.

Four teams with four shots at winning championships made for one magical year. Now, we have the polar opposite of that. We have 1972 and 1994, which were two of the bleakest sports years in the city's history.

When the 76ers finish their season Wednesday night against the Miami Heat, it will mark the second time in four years that the four major professional teams have been shut out of the playoffs in succession.

It also happened when the 2012 Phillies and Eagles failed to make the playoffs and the Flyers and Sixers followed with fruitless seasons that ended in 2013. The last time all four teams failed to make the playoffs in the same calendar year was 1994 and there were no baseball playoffs that year, so it was just as well that the Phillies immediately got old after reaching the 1993 World Series.

Before '94, you have to go back to 1972 to find the only other time that all four teams failed to make the playoffs since the expansion Flyers joined the mix during the 1967-68 NHL season.

It really does feel a lot like 1972 around here. Sure, things would eventually get better. The Flyers, in fact, were just two seasons away from surprisingly winning that first Stanley Cup, which is now a faded memory for those of us old enough to recall it. To younger generations, it's just some ancient event that is occasionally replayed on CSN Philly.

Take a long, hard look at the four teams as they are now constructed and it's hard to imagine any of them winning it all in the next two years.

We're waiting to see if the Flyers are going to fire their coach again, something they've done 14 times in the 40 years since they last won the Stanley Cup under the late Fred Shero. Regardless of who coaches the Flyers next season, the team's future hinges on young defensemen Samuel Morin, Travis Sanheim, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Robert Hagg. To expect them to arrive in Philadelphia and resurrect the team is unrealistic.

A lot of people seem to be on board with the work of 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, but it sure would be nice if his master plan had a time line. The bottom line is that the Sixers will have 19 wins if they beat Miami in their season finale, which is the same total they had a year ago. The Sixers are the last franchise in the city to win a playoff series, so they have that going for them.

The Phillies have become the city's biggest punching bag and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.'s face has been painted on the front. They are the last team to win a championship, but sometimes it seems as if the 2008 World Series was played before the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals. By the admission of their team president, things will get worse before they get better.

That leaves us with the Eagles, the franchise with the longest championship drought in the city but the greatest hope for the immediate future. They are 20-12 under Chip Kelly and he likes to move fast, so you have to think he feels like he can win a championship soon. We should have a better idea of how realistic that is after the NFL draft. All we know right now is that the Eagles' December collapse last season was wicked fast.

Without question, Kelly is the most interesting man in the city, if not the entire NFL. If he ever does win a Super Bowl, Dos Equis should have him beat up actor Jonathan Goldsmith in one of its beer commercials. First, however, Kelly must win a playoff game and that task could have a high degree of difficulty with Sam Bradford at quarterback.

In the meantime, we can look at other cities with envy. It must be fun in Boston, where the fans have celebrated nine titles since the turn of the century. Wouldn't it be great to just once have a dynasty franchise like the Los Angeles Lakers? Weren't the Phillies supposed to do what the San Francisco Giants have done in this decade?

Minnesota and Washington have had it a lot worse among the four-team cities, but this spring the Wild, the Wizards and the Capitals will all be making playoff appearances.

There is no denying these are bad times, but, hey, at least the Soul are undefeated.

When the 76ers complete their season Wednesday night against the Miami Heat, it will mark the second time in three years that the four major professional teams in the city have failed to make the playoffs in succession. Here's a look at how Philadelphia compares with the other 12 cities with at least four major professional sports teams since the turn of the century.

a-Los Angeles market has six teams but no NFL team.

b-New York market has nine teams.

c-San Francisco/Oakland market has six teams.

d-Chicago has five teams.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob