Sports in Philadelphia

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a long and rich tradition in professional, semi-professional, amateur, college, and high-school sports.

Sports play a very significant role in the culture of the city and the Greater Philadelphia area. Philadelphia sports fans are considered to be some of the most knowledgeable fans in sports, and are known for their extreme passion for all of their teams.^[2] Philadelphia fans, particularly Phillies and Eagles fans, have a reputation for being the "Meanest Fans in America".^[3]

Philadelphia's passionate and knowledgeable fans, combined with the number and extensive history and tradition of the city's teams have many times led the city to be described as the nation's best sports city.^[4][5]

Philadelphia is one of thirteen cities that hosts teams in the "Big Four" major sports leagues in North America, and Philadelphia is one of just four cities in which one team from every league plays within city limits. These major sports teams are the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB), the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Each team has played in Philadelphia since at least the 1960s, and each team has won at least two championships. Since 2010, the Greater Philadelphia area also has been the home of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer (MLS), making the Philadelphia market one of only nine cities that hosts a team in the five major sports leagues. Prior to the 1980s, Philadelphia was home to several other notable professional franchises, including the Philadelphia Athletics, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, the Philadelphia Warriors, the Philadelphia Quakers, Philadelphia Atoms, and the Philadelphia Field Club.

The Greater Philadelphia area hosts several college sports teams. The Philadelphia Big 5 is an informal association of college basketball schools in Philadelphia, historically consisting of La Salle University, the University of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University, and Villanova University and also including Drexel University as of the 2023–24 school year. These six schools, along with Delaware State University and the University of Delaware, all represent the Greater Philadelphia area in NCAA Division I, while several other area schools field teams in other divisions of the NCAA. Temple fields the lone Division I FBS football team in the region, though many Philadelphia fans root for other programs, such as the Penn State Nittany Lions.

In addition to the major professional and college sports, numerous semi-pro, amateur, community, and high school teams play in Philadelphia. The city hosts numerous sporting events, such as the Penn Relays and the Collegiate Rugby Championship, and Philadelphia has been the most frequent host of the annual Army–Navy football game. Philadelphia has also been the home of several renowned athletes and sports figures. Philly furthermore has played a historically significant role in the development of cricket and extreme wrestling in the United States.