The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [1] The Wings were one of the original four teams in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League that began play in 1987. The league was renamed to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League in 1989, and again to the National Lacrosse League in 1998. They are the only franchise to have played all 21 seasons in the same city. The Wings have the most titles in the combined league history with 6 total: 4 North American Cups in the MILL era and 2 Champion's Cup since the formation of the NLL. __TOC__

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History

Early years

The Philadelphia Wings were one of the original four franchises in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, joining the New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder in the premiere season. While the Wings were not an immediate success on the floor, going 3-3 and 3-5 in the first two regular seasons with two playoff losses, there were the biggest draw in the league. They drew an average of almost 12,000 fans to their three 1987 regular season games, and slightly over 12,000 fans for their four games in 1988.

Their first on-field success came in 1989 with a first place 6-2 campaign, ending with their first of a league record 6 titles with an 11-10 win over New York at the Spectrum. The Wings became the first team to repeat with another 6-2 regular season followed by a championship win in Worcester over the New England Blazers. A 5-5 season in 1991 left the Wings in third place in the American Division, 1 game behind the division winners Baltimore and out of the playoffs for the first time in their history, denying them the opportunity for a "threepeat."

Some of the early stars of those teams included Mike French, Hall of Fame college player at Cornell and a current team executive; John Grant Sr., father of current NLL star John Grant Jr.; Syracuse Hall of Famer Brad Kotz; long time Wings coach, Tony Resch; and long time NLL player and coach John Tucker.

Wings vs. Bandits

In 1992, the MILL expanded to western New York with the Buffalo Bandits. The Bandits were primarily Canadian players from Ontario, while the Wings were still mostly American based, like the rest of the league at the time. The rivalry was instant, as the teams would play each other in 4 of the next 5 title games, interrupted only by the Wings triumph over Rochester in the 1995 season. The Wings struggled in the regular season of 1992, but turned it on in the playoffs to defeat Baltimore and New York and host the Bandits in the championship game. John Tavares would end the Wings quest for their 3rd title with an overtime winner, however.

1993 saw the Wings have a 7-1 season, only to be topped by the Bandits perfect 8-0 season. Both teams dispatched their semifinal opponents, and the rematch was on. The Bandits once again ended the Wings hopes, this time winning a one goal contest in regulation 13-12.

1994 saw both teams top their respective divisions with 6-2 marks, and again both teams dominated the semifinal game to meet for a 3rd consecutive time for the North American Cup. An incredible run by Philadelphia in the middle of the game buried the Bandits hopes of their own threepeat, giving the Wings a 26-15 win and their third title.

The Wings were their same dominating selves in 1995, going 7-1 to finish atop the single table (a structure the league changed back to before the season), while the Bandits uncharacteristically struggled, finishing just 4th in a 6 team league at 3-5. This meant the Wings faced the Bandits in the semifinals, and due to the MILL's "attendance rule" that gave postseason home field advantage to the team with better attendance, the game was played in Buffalo. The Wings proved to be the better team with a 19-16 win on their way to a league high 4th title.

1996 saw the Bandits return to their prior form, while both teams finishing 8-2 and tied atop the league standings. Once again, the teams found themselves in the final, and the Bandits returned the favor of stopping a threepeat with a dominating 15-10 performance.

1997 would be the first time that the Wings and Bandits would not meet in the playoffs since the Bandits had been introduced in 1992. The Wings won another regular season title with a 7-1 record, but were upset in the semifinals by the eventual champion Rochester Knighthawks.

NLL era

The league name changed for 1998, but the Wings success wasn't about to. Despite the loss of Gary Gait to the Baltimore Thunder, the Wings still claimed their 4th regular season title in 5 years at 9-3. Once again, the Wings were paired up with their arch-rival Bandits in the semifinal round, and the Wings dispatched the Bandits just as they had in the previous semifinal matchup. The Wings advanced to play the Thunder and Gary Gait in the final round, which was a best 2 of 3 series for the one and only time in league history. The Wings opened the series with a 16-12 victory at home, before sweeping the series with a dominating 17-12 road victory in Baltimore Arena.

1999 saw the end of the heated Wings-Bandits rivalry, as the Bandits started to rebuild and fell to a 4-8 mark, missing the postseason. The Wings also had regular season struggles, finishing at just 5-7 and squeaking into the playoffs as the fourth seed. Wings fans probably wish the team had missed the postseason, as the team was pummeled in a record breaking 13-2 loss to the eventual champion Toronto Rock. 2000 saw the team improve slightly to 7-5 during the season, but it ended the same way, with a semifinal loss in Toronto by a more respectable 14-10 score.

That set up the 2001 season, with the Wings once again seeing their league dominance challenged by a newcomer to the league. The Rock and the Wings did not disappoint, with the Rock going 11-3 and the Wings 10-4 in the regular season, and winning their semifinal games to set up a third straight postseason matchup in Toronto, this time with the title on the line. Unlike the previous two games, the Wings dictated the style of play, and built a 9-4 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Rock finally solved the defensive puzzle. It proved too little, too late, and the Wings claimed their 6th title with a 9-8 upset victory, once again ending the chance at the first league threepeat.

The 2002 season was clearly a transition year for the franchise, as they muddled through a difficult season to finish at 8-8 before falling in a quarterfinal game against the Washington Power. Until the 2008 season, it would prove to be the last playoff appearance for the proud franchise.

Rebuilding

The 2003 season saw the Wings start off strongly, but collapse down the stretch as they finished 8-8, and lost the division title to the Colorado Mammoth, missing the postseason for the first time since 1991. It would continue to get worse for the Wings, as the next two years ended with a last place 7-9 2004 season and a 6-10 2005 season. The rebuilding of the Wings began in earnest in the offseason, as the Wings would have three first round draft picks before the 2006 season, adding Sean Greenhalgh, Luke Wiles, and Chad Thompson. ^[2] Wiles and Thompson were later dealt for Mike Regan, and Greenhalgh was moved to Buffalo after the 2007 season. Despite the added firepower, the Wings saw some improvement, going 8-8 in 2006 but missing the postseason on tiebreakers.

The 2006 draft was again fertile ground for the Wings, adding Geoff Snider, Ian Llord, and Athan Iannucci in the first round, ^[3] and adding Kyle Wailes, another first round pick, through a trade with Calgary. ^[4] However, the 2007 season again would leave fans wondering about the future, when the Wings collapsed down the stretch with 4 losses in the last 5 games to crash to a 6-10 record and miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. The entire coaching staff was fired after the season ended, though Lindsay Sanderson kept the role of GM. ^[5]

Back in the Postseason

On June 8, 2007, the Wings announced that the team's original general manager Dave Huntley would be their head coach for the 2008 season. ^[6] The personnel changes would continue as Sean Greenhalgh was moved to Buffalo and Ian Llord moved to Calgary in a deal that brought the Wings Jason Crosbie on offense and former Defenseman of the Year Taylor Wray on defense. ^[7] The Wings added goaltender Rob Blasdell in the dispersal draft that occurred for the one year supension of the Arizona Sting, and he was named the starting goaltender for the 2008 season. On March 5, 2008, the Wings continued to restructure the team, even when leading the league with a 6-1 record at the halfway point. The Wings were involved in trades with the Chicago Shamrox, Minnesota Swarm, and Edmonton Rush leading to the acquisition of A.J. Shannon and Brandon Miller, while sending Matt Roik, Dan Marohl, Keith Cromwell, and Brad Self elsewhere. ^[8]

All the changes paid off, as the Wings compiled a 10-6 record, good for a four way tie for the Eastern Division championship. Due to tiebreakers, they finished with the 4th seed in the East, and travelled to Buffalo for an Eastern Division semifinal game on May 2 ,2008. The Wings return to the postseason was short-lived, however, as the Wings dropped a 14-12 decision to the Bandits.

The 2008 season saw the emergence of two new Wings superstars, second year players Athan Iannucci and Geoff Snider. Iannucci scored 71 goals on the season, breaking Gary Gait's single-season scoring record of 61, ^[9] and Snider set new records for loose balls (242), penalty minutes (103), and faceoffs won (318). ^[10] Both made the All-Star team and All-Pro teams, and Iannucci was named Player of the Month three times as well as league MVP.

Awards & honors

Year	Player	Award
1989	John Tucker	Championship Game MVP
1990	Brad Kotz	Championship Game MVP
1994	Tom Marechek	Rookie of the Year
	Paul Gait	Championship Game MVP
1995	Gary Gait	Most Valuable Player
	Gary Gait	Championship Game MVP
1996	Gary Gait	Most Valuable Player
1997	Gary Gait	Most Valuable Player
1998	Dallas Eliuk	Champion's Cup MVP (series and game 1)
	Bill Miller	Champion's Cup MVP (game 2)
2001	Tony Resch	Coach of the Year
	Russ Cline	Executive of the Year
	Dallas Eliuk	Champion's Cup MVP
2006	Sean Greenhalgh	Sportsmanship Award [11]
2008	Athan Iannucci	Most Valuable Player [12]

NLL Hall of Fame Members

• Russ Cline, Chris Fritz, Gary Gait, ^[13] Paul Gait (class of 2006)
• Mike French, Tom Marechek (class of 2007)
• Tony Resch (class of 2008)
• Dallas Eliuk (class of 2009)

NLL Records Held

• Single Season Goal Scoring Record - Athan Iannucci (71 goals, 2008)
• Single Season Loose Balls Record - Geoff Snider (244 LB, 2008)
• Single Season Faceoff Wins Record - Peter Jacobs (318 FW, 2005) and Geoff Snider (318 FW, 2008)
• Single Season PIM Record - Geoff Snider (103 PIM, 2008)
• Most Goals in a Single Game - Paul Gait (10 goals, 26 March 1994)

Fan support & traditions

Philadelphia fans are known for their passionate support of their team, and the less than hospitable treatment of opposing players.In a poll of the players, over 62% stated that Wings fans have screamed the filthiest and nastiest things at them in the league. ^[14]

Of the fans, goaltender Rob Blasdell said "They truly are the best fans in the league. They're probably the most knowledgeable fans in the league. It would kind of be the same as playing for the Leafs in Toronto They're very, very passionate." ^[15] Philadelphia fans enjoy the physical aspect of the game, ^[16] leading Geoff Snider to comment:"The Philly fans are great. They are very loyal and they get behind it," he said. "I got a standing ovation once for a roughing penalty. I'd never seen anything like that before." ^[17] Fans traditions start right from the national anthem, when fans can be heard making a 'tsch' sound at the end of each line, mocking a recording that was used by the Wings in the early years where the only audible portion of the song was the cymbal crashes. During the introductions of the opposing team, each players' name is followed by a call of "sucks", a tradition that has been extended to the opposing coaches, trainers, and the game officials. The local shot clock operator has escaped the jeering, and is instead cheered.

During the game, the opposing goalie is often the target of fan's heckling. The most common chant is to remind the goalie 'It's all your fault' after every goal they allow. More recently, the crowd in some sections have taken to 'beeping' like a truck in reverse any time a goalie backs up.

The most notable tradition of all is the dualing "W-I-N-G-S" cheers. The side of the arena with the penalty boxes have long been led by "Chopper", a Wings superfan with face paint and a hard hat, well known around the league making opposing players who find their way to the penalty box regret their time there. The bench side has going through many leaders, from "Big Gabe" (father of Scott Gabrielson, a Wings captain in the 1990s) to "Big E" to Chasmo, and now "The Captain" and "Morpheus" or as he made himself known as during the second half of the game on February 29, 2008, "Doctor Lacrosse". While the leader of the chants aren't always the same from year to year, the "W-I-N-G-S WINGS!" cheer hasn't died out at all, and is still prevalent at every game.

The song "Welcome to the Jungle" has become an anthem of the team, with the song often being played in the last few moments of the game when the Wings need a critical goal or a key defensive stop, and it never fails to get the crowd off their seats and into a frenzy. All of these traditions have made Philadelphia one of the hardest arenas in the NLL for a road team to get a win.

Roster

All time Record

Season	Division	W-L	Finish	Home	Road	GF	GA	Coach	Playoffs
1987		3-3	2nd	2-1	1-2	86	82	Steve Wey	Lost in semifinals
1988		3-5	3rd	2-2	1-3	97	90	Steve Wey	Lost in semifinals
1989		6-2	1st	4-0	2-2	122	96	Dave Evans	Won Championship
1990		6-2	2nd	3-1	3-1	89	82	Dave Evans	Won Championship
1991	American	5-5	3rd	3-2	2-3	129	131	Dave Evans	Missed playoffs
1992	American	3-5	2nd	1-3	2-2	106	109	Dave Evans	Lost Championship
1993	American	7-1	1st	4-0	3-1	121	86	Dave Evans	Lost Championship
1994	American	6-2	1st	4-0	2-2	127	89	Mike French	Won Championship
1995		7-1	1st	4-0	3-1	115	94	Tony Resch	Won Championship
1996		8-2	T-1st	4-1	4-1	165	114	Tony Resch	Lost Championship
1997		7-3	1st	3-2	4-1	137	115	Tony Resch	Lost in semifinals
1998		9-3	1st	3-3	6-0	166	148	Tony Resch	Won Championship
1999		5-7	4th	4-2	1-5	153	153	Tony Resch	Lost in semifinals
2000		7-5	4th	4-2	3-3	172	165	Tony Resch	Lost in semifinals
2001		10-4	2nd	6-1	4-3	205	177	Tony Resch	Won Championship
2002	Eastern	8-8	2nd	6-2	2-6	222	237	Adam Mueller	Lost in Quarterfinals
2003	Eastern	8-8	2nd	6-2	2-6	203	209	Adam Mueller	Missed playoffs
2004	Eastern	7-9	4th	3-5	4-4	192	198	Adam Mueller	Missed playoffs
2005	Eastern	6-10	4th	3-5	3-5	213	218	Lindsay Sanderson	Missed playoffs
2006	Eastern	8-8	5th	5-3	3-5	184	184	Lindsay Sanderson	Missed playoffs
2007	Eastern	6-10	6th	4-4	2-6	178	186	Lindsay Sanderson	Missed playoffs
2008	Eastern	10-6	4th	7-1	3-5	225	220	Dave Huntley	Lost in Quarterfinals
2009	Eastern	7-9	5th	4-4	3-5	188	193	David Huntley	Missed playoffs
Total	23 seasons	152-118		89-46	63-72	3,591	3,386
Playoff Totals		16-10		10-4	6-6	339	306

Playoff results

Season	Game	Visiting	Home
1987	Semifinals	Washington 20	Philadelphia 15
1988	Semifinals	Philadelphia 10	New Jersey 12
1989	Championship	New York 10	Philadelphia 11
1990	Semifinals	New York 8	Philadelphia 9
	Championship	Philadelphia 17	New England 7
1992	Division Semifinal	Baltimore 12	Philadelphia 14
	Division Final	Philadelphia 8	New York 6
	Championship	Buffalo 11	Philadelphia 10 (OT)
1993	Division Final	New York 9	Philadelphia 17
	Championship	Philadelphia 12	Buffalo 13
1994	Division Final	New York 7	Philadelphia 17
	Championship	Philadelphia 26	Buffalo 15
1995	Semifinals	Philadelphia 19	Buffalo 16
	Championship	Rochester 14	Philadelphia 15 OT
1996	Semifinals	Boston 8	Philadelphia 10
	Championship	Philadelphia 10	Buffalo 15
1997	Semifinals	Rochester 15	Philadelphia 13
1998	Semifinals	Buffalo 12	Philadelphia 17
	Championship (Game 1)	Baltimore 12	Philadelphia 16
	Championship (Game 2)	Philadelphia 17	Baltimore 12
1999	Semifinals	Philadelphia 2	Toronto 13
2000	Semifinals	Philadelphia 10	Toronto 14
2001	Semifinals	Rochester 11	Philadelphia 12
	Championships	Philadelphia 9	Toronto 8
2002	Quarterfinals	Washington 12	Philadelphia 11
2008	Division Semifinal	Philadelphia 12	Buffalo 14

Head Coaching History

#	Name	Term	Regular Season				Playoffs
			GC	W	L	W%	GC	W	L	W%
1	Steve Wey	1987—1988	14	6	8	.429	2	0	2	.000
2	Dave Evans	1989—1993	42	27	15	.643	8	6	2	.750
3	Mike French	1994	8	6	2	.750	2	2	0	1.000
4	Tony Resch	1995—2001	78	53	25	.679	12	8	4	.667
5	Adam Mueller	2002—2004	48	23	25	.479	1	0	1	.000
6	Lindsay Sanderson	2005—2007	48	20	28	.417	—	—	—	—
7	Dave Huntley	2008—present	16	10	6	.625	1	0	1	.000

Notes and references

1. '''Practice facility:''' The Wings training camp, and part-time practice facility is United Sports Training Center in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania, while other practices are hosted by Tri-State Sports in Aston, Pennsylvania.
2. Brodie Merrill joins brother as #1 draft picks
3. Stealth doubles up with Benesch, Sorensen atop draft
4. Wings trade for Wailes, wait on Snider
5. Wings Relieve Coaching Staff of Duties
6. Wings Hire Dave Huntley as Head Coach
7. Three Team Blockbuster Trade announced
8. Trade Frenzy: Six players dealt
9. Iannucci Breaks Single-Season Goals Record
10. Snider Breaks Loose Ball Record
11. Greenhalgh Wins Bowflex Sportsmanship Award
12. Athan Iannucci Wins Reebok MVP Award
13. These players were not inducted into the Hall of Fame as Wings, but played a part of their career in Philadelphia.
14. NLL Player Poll: Players, fans and Stephen Hoar
15. Blasdell with Lacrosse for life
16. The very angry face of lacrosse
17. Mixin' it up with Geoff Snider

See also

• Philadelphia Wings seasons
• 1974-75 Philadelphia Wings team
• Lacrosse in Pennsylvania