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Anyone who has passed by the courts dotting the area can confirm one thing: We are competitive.
Adrian Mapp, born and raised at 20th and Fernon streets, is no exception.
"I got my competitive spirit from playing on the courts on 20th and Tasker. They were so competitive sports-wise and that’s where I got my spirit from," Mapp, 47, said. "I was known as a guy who hated to lose."
Losing hasn’t been a problem for the three-time champ at the SEPTA Rail Roadeo, as Mapp, with partner Michael Sheppard, captured the gold at the transportation operators’ competition again Sept. 12.
"Mike and I kind of clicked together and we decided to team up and we’ve been winning ever since," Mapp, a 15-year operator on the Philadelphia subway system, said.
The annual competition brings out two-person teams of SEPTA employees from around the area to compete in a day-long test of everything from skill at repairing stalled trains to proper customer-service protocol.
"You troubleshoot the trains. If there are problems, then you’ll fix it," Mapp said of the 15-minute sets on skill-testing. "You go through an obstacle course and you have to obey all the signs, speeds and signals. They test your knowledge of the ADA [American Disabilities Act] rules and have regulation uniform inspections."
After last year’s local clinching, the duo took the competition to an international level when they participated in a similar event in Chicago, Ill., and came in fifth out of 25. This year’s international showdown is in Vancouver, Canada.
"We’re going to bring home the trophy. Me and my partner are so competitive — you want to be the best and be known as the best," Mapp said of the June competition.
"We really go out and try and represent SEPTA really well."
With a $1,000 prize and "bragging rights for a year" on the line, Mapp is lucky to have some special people in his corner.
"They are my biggest supporters as far as the local Roadeo; they go with me every year and they are my biggest fans," Mapp said of his four daughters who will, unlike years past, accompany their father to the next level.
Spending his youth at McDaniel Elementary, 1801 S. 22nd St., Vare, 2100 S. 24th St., and then Bok Tech, 1901 S. Ninth St., Mapp carved out a homey niche, where he still resides today, at 20th and Tasker streets.
"When I was a kid growing up, people looked out for each other," Mapp, who feels the neighborhood has become more private, said.
Despite the changes, his hometown area is a place he’ll never leave.
"My whole family is there. My mother, my sister, my brother, my aunts, uncles, cousins," Mapp said. "I think family is important and we go through the good times and the bad times together."
Keeping close to home is something Mapp feels comfortable doing after eight years in the Navy took him to exotic locales such as Gibraltar, Israel, Spain, Greece and Africa.
"I wanted to travel and see the world. I got to see a lot of things and it broadened my horizons to see how other people live. It was a very good experience," Mapp said of his time stationed in Norfolk, Va., right after high school.
"It was hard because I was away from my family and I was basically the first one to leave the nest and go out of town and it was a new experience for me," Mapp said. "But it was something I enjoyed doing."
Soon enough the cons outweighed the pros when his first child was born. Mapp jumped ship and moved back to his hometown to raise a family.
December 1991 brought a new job as a maintenance custodian for SEPTA. A transfer request put Mapp in the driver’s seat of a SEPTA bus for three years, and another transfer got him into the uniform of a transportation operator.
"I was on the Market-Frankford Line for five years, then they had a retrenchment. A retrenchment is when they went from a two-person operation to a one-person operation in 1999," Mapp said. "That pushed me over from the Market Line to the Broad Street Line."
The decade spent on the 10.1-mile stretch of orange that runs from Pattison Avenue to Fern Rock has been invigorating.
"I love it because when you are on the trains you are your own boss. As long as you follow the rules and regulations you have no problems. I like the freedom," Mapp said. "You meet some very interesting people on the train, but the good outweigh the bad."
His hard work and professionalism has not gone unnoticed — by employer or customer.
"I had gotten a commendation for my professionalism. Somebody wrote a letter into SEPTA that they enjoyed the ride I gave them, so that was really something," Mapp said.
Though happy in his current role, Mapp has his sights set even higher.
"I would love to continue working for SEPTA, but my ultimate goal is to be an instructor. You teach them how to operate the trains, rules and regulations," Mapp, who works from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., said.
Mapp has to wait for the position to become available and then apply, which is something he intends to do. For now, the focus remains on representing Philadelphia to the fullest in June.
"I’m competitive and I want to win so I really try and get into the troubleshooting and operating and ADA guidelines," Mapp said. "’Cause it’s foreign equipment, you go out there blind. I want a win."
The seven-day excursion will include a day of exploring Mapp will share with his daughters, Aaliyah, 21, Jasmine, 16, and twins Briana and Bianca, 10.
"I usually go out a day early so we can get to experience the city before I have to go to school," Mapp, who will be receiving three days of classroom instruction in Vancouver, said. "We have been online to try to see what Vancouver offers us."
Family is always Mapp’s No. 1 priority — though winning is a close second — and group outings to the Oregon Avenue Chili’s or the Snyder Avenue Chuck E. Cheese’s are regular occurrences.
Next year’s travels across the northern border will be the first time the Mapp children have ventured outside America. Traveling, which is important to Mapp, is something he’ll take every opportunity to share with his girls.
"We just came back from Florida; we went down to Disney World," the proud father said. "I try to take them places so they can see different things and enjoy life."
