“Are you ready for some football?” the jingle asks. My answer is YES! Now technically, the season began the other night with Green Bay defeating New Orleans. However, the season is official when the team you root for begins. For the great majority of us, that is Sunday.
The Philadelphia Eagles are my team of choice. Well, my rooting interest was not a choice. Born into a sports crazed family in a sports crazed town, being an Eagles fan was thrust upon me. My first memory of the Eagles was a 1978 playoff game. They went up 13-0 on the Falcons. The only reason they were not up 14—0 is because they missed an extra point. I wasn’t worried and declared to my family, “no big deal. They’ll win this game easy.” I got stares and reminded to not talk till it’s over. Well, the quiet turned into ugliness when the Falcons scored two touchdowns in the last 5 minutes to win the game 14-13. “You had to talk didn’t you. Yeah, they are gonna win, don’t worry,” they mocked. What did I know – I was only 8,
I could fill a lot of space talking about Eagles memories, but I would rather focus on the upcoming season. The team signed a number of players, and the expectation level has soared. The term dream team has even been mentioned in reference to them. Of course, the most recent incarnation of that term, the Miami Heat of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, lost in the NBA championship. I would like to say that I think the Eagles will live up to that term and turn in a season that many of us fans have been longing for (I asked a rabbi to offer a blessing for them before Super Bowl 39. He declined noting that the Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, was known for his charitable ways towards Jewish oriented charities. I should of recognized then that it was hopeless.).
I believe the 2011 Eagles will be an interesting team. They are stacked at a few positions particularly defensive backs and wide receivers. In fact, I think their offense could be outstanding, but their offensive line is such a question mark that it is hard to see it being consistent enough. On defense, I feel good about their line and cornerbacks. The linebackers are a wildcard though and to hope for them to be anything better than mediocre is a stretch while the safeties will probably be merely okay.
So, the Eagles, my team of choice, should be good but probably not good enough to achieve championship status. Despite this, I am ready for football and am looking forward to watching this season. Let the games begin!
Have many general memories of spending Sunday afternoons spent in the Bridle Road living room watching pitiful teams until Dick Vermeil came along…Pessimism about the Eagles, and Philly sports teams in general, were developed in those years and passed on to us from Dad…Maybe this year will be different, but we have heard that before and certainly not counting on it….On another note, wasn’t it a little strange yetserday, wanting to root on the team but also wanting to respect and honor 9/11 memories? It helped to put sports in perspective, even if just for a day.
I don’t think it was just him. I think it is a Phila phenomenon. We don’t believe. It is easy to believe considering the lack of success the teams have had over the years. Anyway, i do remember watching plenty of games with dad where he would go down to do work at halftime convinced they were going to lose. The 9/11 stuff was hard for me, and truth be told, I did not watch much of the programming focused on it. However, it does put sports in perspective as does age in life and general. As much as I want to see the teams win, I could list 50 other things within a minute that mean so much more to me. Sports are a pleasant diversion but more so when your teams win.
I enjoyed reading this even though I know nothing about the Football and just support the Eagles out of a good sense of loyalty to Philadelphia!
Thanks for both the feedback and your support of the Eagles.