As I sat holding back my tears after the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 loss in Super Bowl 39, I promised myself, “I am never watching the Eagles again.”
However, 6 a.m. the next morning, ESPN was the first channel I turned to. Even though the Eagles broke my heart the night before, I could not resist hearing about poor clock management or how Donovan was heaving in the huddle. This is when I realized I had become a true Philadelphia Eagles fan.
I’ve always had a love for Philadelphia sports, especially the Eagles. Little did I know that it would soon become an obsession of mine. I would read the Philadelphia Daily News every Friday of the regular season just to see player match-ups or who the experts picked to win the game. I made sure to wake up Sunday mornings extra early to watch every pre-game show on. Also, immediately after the game, I would send emails full of questions to Post Game Live on Comcast, once receiving a game ball. Then on Mondays, I made sure to finish my homework right after school so I could watch Monday Night Live at 7. My blood had officially turned green.
I have now gone from a die-hard Eagles fan to an amateur critic. Before, I would be thrilled to see McNabb complete a 10-yard pass to Reggie Brown. Now I think to myself, we could have racked on at least ten more yards if McNabb could have hit Brown in stride. Or when Jevon Kearse misses a tackle I reflect on how high the expectations were around the city when the Eagles signed him to $66 million contract.
However, not even Ray Didinger can predict what the future holds for the Philadelphia Eagles. It is unclear if Andy Reid will still be the big man in charge on the Eagles sideline or if Kevin Kolb will be the new “captain of the ship”. Who knows if we will ever seen a defense similar to the “Gang Green” or a quarterback with such athleticism as Randall Cunningham who made a name for himself after the infamous “Fog Bowl”.
Regardless, one thing will remain untouched with Eagles fans. We will always share the same hatred for the Cowboys as much as Buddy Ryan did more than 20 years ago.
