Sports Illustrated sent this over to us this morning, and typically we just throw stuff like this in the Fly By, but there's nothing else to talk about. So here's a post about how the 1974-75 Flyers are the fourth most hated sports team in history.
The Broad Street Bullies were the first hockey team to use intimidation as a tactic. Urged by coach Fred Shero to "take the shortest route to the puck carrier and arrive in ill humor," rugged enforcers like Dave (The Hammer) Schultz (pictured), Bob (Hound) Kelly, Don (Big Bird) Saleski and Andre (Moose) Dupont racked up penalty minutes in record quantities while clearing the way for skill players like Reggie Leach, Bill Barber and three-time NHL MVP Bobby Clarke. They were nicknamed by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the Philadelphia Bulletin, who wrote in 1973 that "the image of the fightin' Flyers is spreading gradually around the NHL, and people are dreaming up wild nicknames. They're the Mean Machine, the Bullies of Broad Street and Freddy's Philistines." The Flyers captured back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and '75 and remained one of the league's biggest road draws for years to come, but many traditionalists contend their legacy was corruptive on hockey. "They brawled their way to the Cup," longtime Toronto Star writer Frank Orr recalled in HBO's documentary about the team. "To the purists, they represented everything evil about the game. They were a disgrace."
Which teams beat the Flyers, you might ask? At number one, the 1986 U of Miami football team. Number two, the 88-89 Detroit Pistons, number three, the 1992 Dallas Cowboys. There's only one other hockey team on the list, and that's the 2000-01 Toronto Maple Leafs.