Arestia: One Last Night with the Philadelphia Wings

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Wings are part of the very fabric of professional box lacrosse history.

They played in the National Lacrosse League, the one that launched in 1974, and then were one of the original four teams in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League that opened in 1987. Eventually, in 1998, the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League was renamed the National Lacrosse League, birthing the NLL that we have today.

The Wings are the only franchise to keep their name and city from 1974 through that 1998 season. In 2014, after 28 years, the Wings were relocated to Connecticut, where they became the New England Black Wolves. Then in 2017, Philadelphia was awarded an expansion franchise, and the Wings were reborn.

Philadelphia fans are notorious for their fervor, their passion and at times their downright mania. The Eagles, 76ers, Flyers and Phillies of the “Big Four” leagues draw scores of fans, as do the Union, the city’s Major League Soccer team.

In 2030, Philadelphia will welcome a WNBA team, too. Philadelphia fans love their winners and deride their losers as much as any fans in America.

On April 11, the Wings played their final home game. NLL commissioner Brett Frood recently said the league was “actively engaging with prospective ownership groups” about the future of the franchise, though it very much appears that the Wings have met their end.

Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game. A tailgate, organized via fan social media pages, started hours earlier at 11 a.m. — plenty of time for fun, nostalgia and farewells.

The tailgate itself looked like living, breathing Wings history. Fans were there in jerseys of Dallas Eliuk, who played for the Wings from 1991-2005, Jake Bergey, whose career spanned 1998-2008, and players from this year’s team, like Brennan O’Neill and Philadelphia’s own Michael Sowers.

A banner featuring all the Wings’ cup wins hung between two giant Wings-branded tents. Inside the tents, tailgaters got Wings-colored party beads, drinks (for all ages), food and more. There were fans under 10 and fans who’ve been around the wings for tens of years.

Eric “Big E” Schultz organized it all. Schultz first became a Wings fan decades ago. The team came to his high school, and that grew his interest. Tickets to other teams like the Flyers were expensive, but he found a home at Wings games and has been a diehard fan ever since.

Schultz wears a printed Wings fan club membership card around his neck, something he helps make for all club members. He leads “W-I-N-G-S” cheers in the arena. He lives and breathes the team.

Schultz was one of many fans saying the same thing. Philly fans love a winner, a competitor, and when they feel like management hasn’t allowed one of their teams to be that, they get angry.

Lines formed well before 5:30. Upon entry, fans raced to the merch store, eager to get their hands on the soon-to-be-gone (and heavily discounted) Wings apparel. They line went out the door.

After the shopping spree, fans made their way into the arena to catch warmups. Some of that ire for ownership carried over from the parking lot, as a few “Comcast sucks!” chants broke out before the game even started.

The Wings have been eliminated from playoff contention, but their opponent, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, needed a win to stay in the postseason picture. Philly fans are more than happy to play spoiler. And even with nothing on the line for them, the fans were into it. They even booed the referees just for resetting the game clock at one point.

Ultimately, it was a spectacular send off. The Wings got on the board with a goal from Sam LeClair just under two minutes into the game. Kyle Jackson scored on a high-flying dunk from behind the goal that brought fans to their feet. Nick Damude played his best game of the year, posting a franchise-record 60 saves and a 92.3-percent save percentage. 

The in-house announcer delivered a low, droning, “Day-Mood” for each save and cheers got louder and louder for the netminder as the saves piled up. Not a bad night to set a team record.

One of the best moments actually wasn’t a scoring play at all. In the third quarter, Wings forward Eric Fannell got tied up with Rhys Blake. Some pushing ensued, words were exchanged, and then equipment started coming off. As soon as the helmets and gloves hit the ground, the refs moved out of the way of the incoming fight and nearly 10,000 fans all got to their feet and started yelling.

Fannell and Blake traded blows in a spirited scrap for about a minute before being separated. On his way to the penalty box, Fannell raised a fist in the air, drawing a massive roar. He waved his hands, demanding the fans get louder — a challenge they happily met.

Even once he was in the box, he continued to salute the fans and their cheers. It was a special moment between a player and fans, a “we’re in this together and if we’re leaving, we’re going out with a [literal]  fight” feeling.

Fans got to their feet for the game's final minutes, as the Wings ran out the clock of a physical and dominant win over Vegas. Cheers were as loud as they’d been all day. After the game, players stayed on the floor signing autographs, taking photos and throwing balls and shirts into the stands.

Players’ families joined them on the floor. No one was in any hurry to leave. Fannell, still sporting a shiner from his earlier fisticuffs, ran around the boards with a smile on his face, continuing to take pictures and sign autographs.

Looking around, there were some teary eyes as longtime fans again had to say goodbye to the Philadelphia Wings.

The future of the Wings is unclear. Speculation suggests they will be relocated. Possible new homes include Trenton, N.J., Lehigh Valley, Pa., or even Edmonton, Ontario.

In their final home game, the Wings’ highest-scoring player was rookie Lukas Nielsen, while fellow rookie Dalton Young had six points. O’Neill, one of lacrosse’s biggest stars, is in just his second season with the franchise. A young foundation is in place for this team, wherever it lands next.

The Wings are a critical part of the NLL’s past, and fans want them to be part of the future.