Posted on 02/05/2005 8:52:10 AM PST by crushkerry
As regular readers know I am a die-hard and long suffering Eagles fan. As such, I am conditioned to expect the worst from any Philadelphia team. The scars are deep and longstanding. Any Philadelphia fan knows the names of their tormenters by heart - as if they were names contained in the Lord's Prayer - Joe Carter, Manny Mota, Jim Plunkett, Rod Martin, Ronde Barber, Ricky Manning, Jr., the "Fog Bowl", Magic Johnson, Kareem, Larry Bird, Scott Stevens, Bob Nystrom, Martin St. Louis.
Heartbreak and disappointment are ways of life for the Philadelphia sports fans - the most loyal, passionate and knowledgeable in the country. (Please no stupid, ignorant cracks about throwing snowballs at Santa Claus) Yet every year we keep coming back for more, even more passionate and hungry than the year before.
Thus, it is with a sense of excitement, nervousness, trepidation and anxiety that we diehards await this Sunday's Super Bowl against Hynes favorite team - those jabroni's from the place that brought us John Kerry and Michael Dukakis.
Want to know what an Eagles fan is going through right now?
I'm feeling something that no Philadelphia fan should ever feel - hope. Why after all the years of pain, torment and proverbial kicks in the groin should I be feeling this way? I don't know, I just do. Why is it that we Philadelphia fans allow ourselves to dream about the possibility of success when we've had so very little of it throughout the years? Again, I don't know, we just do.
I wish the game were today. Right now. Strap it up. Let's get it going. But there's also the fear of actually playing the game because we've seen how it ends so many times before.
We're all reveling now in the possibility that we can call ourselves "Champions", but will that be reality come Sunday night at 10pm? Do we dare allow ourselves to dream of the possibility of a parade down Broad Street come Tuesday which will like a championship parade no one has ever seen? Trust me, Philadelphia is the equivalent of a long dormant volcano - filled with fire and passion just waiting to explode for the world to see - if the fates would just give us that chance.
So many times. So many times we have been brought to the edge of euphoria only to have it ripped away from us - along with a piece of our heart. But yet somehow, someway, the heart keeps ticking, despite having chunks of it violently torn away with each passing year and each unique catastrophe that manages to befall us.
This may sound presumptions and arrogant, likely because it is. We deserve this win. We deserve it more than any fans in the country. We deserve this 10 times over for having suffered endlessly year after year with nothing in return but a slap in the face from whatever God dispenses fate on sports fans.
Yet every year we keep coming back, literally willing our teams to bring a title home for us, to reward us. George Santayana once said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result".
Well that's us. Insane. Passionate. Hungry.
Someone asked me in October 2004 whether or not I would rather have George Bush win the Presidency or have the Eagles win the Super Bowl. I couldn't answer. Even though I knew John Kerry would be a disaster to the security of me, my family, and my fellow countrymen. Buy I couldn't answer that I'd rather see a Bush win. I reasoned that Kerry could give me ogida for 4 years and be gone, while the Eagles have broken my heart for the 34 years I've been on the Earth. Trust me, any true Philly fan wouldn't be able to answer that question, no matter who they supported for President.
So to the Eagles I say this - millions and millions of people have your back. If we could all put on helmets and shoulder pads and help we would do it in a heartbeat. Sadly we can't. But know this - the hopes and dreams of an entire city and fan base rest on your shoulders. Win and you will be heroes forever. Never will you have to buy a meal or drink again. People will name their kids after you. Lose and.... well that's just too disappointing to think about. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.
So guys, do it for us - the long suffering Philly fans, starved for a taste of glory who are ready to embrace you forever. 60 minutes guys, 60 minutes. That's all it will take to throw a monkey off our backs that dwarfs King Kong. We want a win. No, we NEED a win.
All of this is my heart talking. What does my head say about who will win? Don't know. Philly fans lead with their hearts, even at the risk of having it ripped out just like it has so many times before.
But I have the feeling I'm going to a Championship Parade in Philly this Tuesday.
Ping
Bookmarked, I feel the same way!
Ping!
Expect to be on the losing end of a similar score tomorrow.
You and I are from different planets.
It's a game, my friend, for rich owners and players.
Oooh, oooh, what about Michael Irvin, or the jailhouse in the stadium? Or the batteries? Oh, so many batteries...
You're not from Philly are you? Then, like my wife, I don't expect you to understand. She says the same thing - "It's just a game". Not to us it isn't. That may seem crazy to some of you, because it is. But we can't help it. It's in our blood, passed down from generation to generation.
Boy, there's going to be a lot of hurt feelings in Philadelphia tomorrow night.
ping
True enough. But JD Drew didn't want to play for us, so screw him. He didn't get hit with any. The Michael Irvin thing was pretty bad, I'll admit, no excuse for that.
I'm not rooting for the Patriots. I'm rooting against your Iggles.
And before you chastise me for my evil attitude, tell me who you were rooting for in Super Bowls the Cowboys were in during the 1990s.
As a Patriots fan, I find myself strangely indifferent about the outcome. With two Super Bowl championships over the past three years and the World Series championship last year here in Boston, I am spoiled beyond belief. So if the Eagles win tomorrow, I'll be happy for them. (Don't think it's going to happen though.)
That's OK, Dog. Whether the Eagles win or lose, you're still stuck with Jerry Jones next year.
Sadly though, those guys are losing teeth now because of age, rather than fights. My first memories of life are seeing my street erupt in celebration on the Sunday afternoon that the Flyers won the Cup. I still have a picture w/ the Stanley Cup - they brought it to a Dept. store for fans to take pics w/ it. I also still have a jersey bought at that parade. Even at 4 I knew all the names and numbers of the bullies.
But that's the problem, it's been way too long. Yeah, we had the Phillies in 80, and the Sixers in 83, but damn man, that's 22 years - 88 seasons. We need this.
Anyone remember which fans threw pork chops at Buddy Ryan? Dallas? Earlier in the week, Ryan almost choked to death on a pork chop.
Well, so what? Long-suffering? It isn't like the Pats have been winning every year since th ebeginning, either. Up until a few years ago, I was a long-suffering Pats fan - they made the Super Bowl a few times and promptly got their butts handed to them. It was that way my whole life... until recently.
So, just be happy you made it this far, and if you win, great. If not, just be content in knowing that you made it this far, and that eventually you'll win it all. Just not this year ;0)
I wouldn't expect you to root for the Eagles. If you did you wouldn't be a true Cowboys fan. In fact, I'd be disappointed if you were to root for the Birds, as it goes against all your principles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.