Maybe this should remain a secret, but my wife is the reason I watch football today … Specifically The Philadelphia Eagles … When we first started getting together, it was the World Series … I remember the pitcher’s name, Orel Herschieser, but I have no idea how to spell his name nor do I feel like looking it up … That was baseball, but after she got me watching this football thing, I really did get into it … I have been watching the Eagles everytime possible since 1992 or so … I went through Kotite, Ryan, Rhodes .. was there others in there? Gang Green and Randal Cunningham … Great games to watch, and serious let downs … Watching the McNabb/Reid Eagles has been awesome … So much drama in their beginnings and the injuries along the way … When the star quarterback went down, everyone thought it was all over, but the team came together and won … 2nd string QB goes down, and the 3rd stringer won games … Incredible … and 3 seasons straight I was let down one game before the Superbowl.
This year on Sunday, January 23rd with about 4 minutes left in the game, I cried. When Chad Lewis made that touchdown, I knew it, I knew it for absotively sure, the Eagles are going to the Superbowl this year! My wife cried … the camera panned, and there were many more people crying … Such a weight lifted on the entire city, the fans, the team … The Eagles are going to the Superbowl! Inasmuch as everyone “knew” they were going to win, I think there were many people that felt as I did, that you needed a clock that read 4 minutes and an unattainable score for the other team to overcome before you actually believed it … Then they present the trophy and there is Donovan McNabb asked to hold the trophy over his head by Terry Bradshaw, and I don’t care what Donovan said in the press conference, you saw it on his face as he raised that trophy … He almost lost it … He had been waiting for that moment for years, and then as the coverage goes on, you hear that the players have been waiting for that moment most of their lives, since they were little kids … People of so many age groups, of so many diverse backgrounds, social status and wealth all could appreciate this happening on the same level. The Eagles are going to the Superbowl this year, and we’re damn friggin happy about it. For the feeling of supporting your local sports team, there is nothing like it … For the “fair weather fans”, they may get caught up in the hype and think it strange the people who become emotionally involved … But we’re the fans that watched all the games all these seasons and who’ve seen the bad calls, the injuries … everything it took to get to where we are now … It’s been a huge emotional ride …
Oh, but back to my wife … She has been the only one to point out someone who isn’t so happy this year … Someone who has gone to the conference championship game 4 years straight and lost. Duece Staley … So far there’s been no mention of this, at least in any coverage I’ve seen … Karma? While most Eagles fans said they didn’t care whether the Eagles won or lost the Superbowl, they would just be happy to get there, I think that sentiment has changed … We want it all!
UPDATE: My wife informs me that it was about 1989 that we started watching the Eagles together … Buddy Ryan was the coach, and Randal Cunningham was the QB … Then Rich Kotite and Ray Rhodes … We even went to Engine 46 Steakhouse on one of our anniversaries because Ray Rhodes and Merril Reese broadcasted the Monday night coaches show from there. When they were done my wife asked Coach Rhodes if she could see his Superbowl ring. He showed it, and then moved on …