Philly Today

It comes as no surprise, as it’s been reported for months, but today it became official: the old Spectrum is coming down next year. The building has become legendary in Philadelphia since Ed Snider brought Flyers hockey to town in 1967.

Over the years I visited the arena for many events, the first probably being the circus at the age of 5. But I also saw tons of Flyers vs. Sabres hockey games, some kind of truck and tractor pull, Phantoms games, and just a few months ago, a rock concert. It’s where I scored a goal against Pete Peeters at the Flyers’ Wives Carnival. It’s a small, intimate venue that can produce some of the loudest crowds you’ve ever heard. It had great chocolate dipped ice cream cones and those weird bathrooms in the basement. And it had a famous statue of Rocky out front for a long time. I can only hope the Spectrum gets a proper sendoff about a year from now and maybe I’ll visit there again for old-time’s sake, before they turn it into a hotel and “entertainment complex”.

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