As the entire city of Philadelphia (and South Jersey) watched in disbelief as their beloved Eagles lost in a big game once again, I rejoiced.
Ever since I can remember, I have been a die-hard, blue-bleeding New York Giants fan. Now, when you decide to be a Giants fan, you automatically become an Eagles hater. This is common knowledge to even your average, run-of-the-mill football fan. While growing up, my father would always point out Eagles fans walking down the street and say, "Take a good look son. They are the enemy."
So, you can imagine my reaction when I found out that my roommate turned out to be an Eagles fan. I'm not just talking about any old fair-weathered Eagles fan either. He's the type that plays their fight song before every game. He's the type that keeps the stats up on his computer while watching the game, just so he can absorb every morsel of Eagle knowledge possible. By some strange heavenly power, I guess, we were able to get through the season without beating the living hell out of each other.
At the beginning of the season, both of us were pretty happy. Yes, the Eagles did beat the Giants in the first game of the season, but after that the G-men were able to rattle off five straight victories. This was very unexpected because even avid Giants fans did not expect much from their team this year. After their great start, though, things turned sour for the Giants and their fans. They lost a million games in a row (or so it seemed) and the Eagles were all anybody wanted to talk about.
When it became apparent that the Giants had absolutely no chance of salvaging their season, I switched gears from Giants lover into Eagles hater. My birthday was on Super Bowl Sunday, so the last thing I wanted to happen was to have the Eagles in the Super Bowl. But of course, it happened.
At first, I was really pissed off. It was my birthday. The Eagles had no right to ruin it like that. But after I gave it a second thought, I told myself that an Eagles loss could be a pretty good birthday present. And since I hate the Patriots too, all I really had to look forward to was a solid, closely contended football game and the commercials.
As the Super Bowl progressed and it looked like the Eagles had a chance, I had a bit of a Grinch moment. I looked over at my roommate and saw the joy and excitement in his face. This would, without a doubt, be one of the greatest moments of his life if the Eagles were able to pull off an upset. Then I thought about all the other friends I have who are Eagles fans and how happy it would make all of them. I thought about all the hapless Philadelphia and South Jersey residents who basically have no great sports moments of which to speak. Perhaps an Eagles victory would finally remove the perpetual chip from their shoulder that annoys the hell out of everyone.
Luckily, this moment lasted only a few seconds because I was really starting to worry myself. I remembered back to the sacred teachings of my father and realized that rooting for the Eagles would in fact be sacrilegious and that rooting for them could ultimately land me in Hell after death.
Once the Super Bowl was over, I looked over at my roommate and saw utter disappointment on his face. Then I looked in the mirror and saw a grin from ear to ear. This was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. All was right with the world again. Thank you, football gods. But next year, how about a Giants win?
Personal note: Although I may despise what all of you Eagles fans stand for, I do respect you for standing by your team. Please don't beat me up.
