Philadelphia Weekly

Step brothers: The Broad St. Bruhs typify step's athletic exuberance.

Pat Burrell? Loser. Smarty Jones? Loser. T.O.? Whiny loser.

The major-league sports teams in this city haven't delivered a championship since 1983. Stepping is where it's at, and this weekend Philly's got no excuse for not bringing home the gold.

Of the nine fraternity and sorority teams competing in the Stomping on the Yard National Step Show Championship this Saturday at the Liacouras Center, four have home field advantage.

For any newbies, steppers make cheerleaders look like one-dimensional, sappy, simpering wimps (but be warned, steppers hate cheerleading comparisons). A predominantly African-American phenomenon, stepping is a cross between tap, hip-hop, percussive dance, spoken word and gymnastics, using techniques taken from marching bands, drill teams and 1960s R&B dance routines. And it's a sport this city excels in.

"Philadelphia has always had a tremendous step culture," says event organizer Chris Crawford. "There's a blue-collar spirit, a work ethic and a persistent attitude here. Philly steppers do it in a strong way and they do it hard. They've got a real Rocky spirit and that makes for good teams."

Although it's been around since the '40s, stepping is more organized now than ever.

"Stepping is a subculture people are really passionate about," says Crawford. "But before Stomping on the Yard, step shows were like third-grade dance recitals. We wanted to enhance the cultural celebration and bring the production quality to a higher level."

Now, in the competition's fourth year, Crawford says it's not uncommon to see pyrotechnics and music incorporated into routines on the 40-by-40-foot stage.

At this weekend's competition--hosted by Diddy-assistant-turned-hip-hop-fashion-icon Fonzworth Bentley--one male and one female team will take home a title belt, a check for $10,000 and perhaps most awesomely, a golden Timberland boot known as Stompy. According to Crawford, the boot is the most coveted trophy in step show history.

In most instances the prize money is used to enrich the winning team's community service efforts. Ben Ellis Jr., of the Philly's PHInest team, says his fraternity works closely with the Germantown Boys and Girls Club.

"We do a lot of different sporting events and we teach the kids to step," says Ellis. "Some of the kids have started their own step teams and compete against each other."

Shaneka Moton, of Philly Felines and the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, says her sorority sisters mentor and do arts and crafts with neighborhood kids. And of course teach them how to step. "We give them another outlet so they're not in the streets and involved with guns and drugs and violence."

Crawford says enriching the community through service and promoting education is Stomping on the Yard's true mission.

"Stepping is great," he says. "But we like to think stepping is the honey to get people interested in education. If they see our people having fun and working together in these groups that you can only be a part of if you're in college, maybe they'll want to go."

Crawford adds that the fraternities and sororities have minimum G.P.A. requirements, and that community service--not stepping--is their main focus.

Maybe there won't be any Super Bowl rings or Triple Crown titles for Philly this year. There definitely won't be a Stanley Cup or a World Series pennant. But odds are good there'll be a golden Stompy boot, which should make all those other Philadelphia sports losers understand it's time to step it up.

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Stomping on the Yard National Step Show Championship: Super Stomp
Sat., Sept. 15, 6pm. $10-$15. Liacouras Center, 1776 N. Broad St. 215.204.2400. www.myspace.com/superstomp