It is easy to believe in these Flyers

Hope. It's what every sports fan lives and dies on. It can build you up and crush your dreams by squashing them like a little bug instantly. While hope can cause joy, we as Philadelphia sports fans know all too well that hope can also ruin your life. Like many of you, I will go to work and openly declare that my love of the Phillies and Eagles isn't good for my mental health. However, I never say that about the Flyers. At least since college (1997-2001).

This has been a hard week for Philly sports fans. The Eagles played like utter trash on Monday Night Football. The Phils backdoored their way into the playoffs and promptly blew the first game of the playoffs, before stunning everyone and winning in extra innings the next day. We're still waiting to see what the 76ers will do.

There there is the Flyers.

Why I Have Hope For This Season

In my annual prediction, I declared the Flyers would finish in second place. I know that seems very pie-in-the-sky thinking, but I feel very comfortable with it. And there are reasons for it.

The Phillies give us hope because they have talented veterans. However, they have failed to introduce younger talent that can actually produce. They have stuck with young talent that isn't producing. They also have older vets who are high-priced and are not performing like they did the last year or two.

The Eagles are plodding along. They are barely winning when they do, keeping us all with our hands on speed dial for our cardiologist. Some of the draft picks have been looking good, but Howie Roseman has been making some reaches (especially on injuries) that might be costing them.

The Flyers are different. They've cut ties with vets when they've had to. They've been great at developing younger talent, even though fans have been impatient to see Jett Luchanko and Oliver Bonk and what they can do. Daniel Briere has had a knack for trading for talent discarded by other teams: Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, David Jiricek. Two out of the three have shed less-than-optimal labels from previous teams, and the third is going to get his chance soon.

But it's not just the quality of players that gives me hope. It's the vibe this team is giving off. It goes back to how they finished last season. This was a team that had just a 3.8% chance to make the playoffs and went on a tear. They torched the Penguins in the first round despite every "expert" saying that they had no chance. They were promptly swept by the Hurricanes, but were only blown out in one game. Two of those games went into overtime. And when the game was over, this happened: