A final thought and best wishes
SoFLPhillyFan
Posts: 3,931 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
An earnest gesture of good luck to all players and fans of the Eagles and Patriots.
May the best team win.
We are not all the moronic, drunk, beer throwing, spitting, idiots that the media portrays. In my travels to Philly last year and this year for the playoffs I have seen nothing other than some good natured strong ribbing of opposing fans and players. While staying at the visiting team hotel I have always wished players good luck and the same to any visiting fans. It's funny to get on an elevator with the opposing fans and watch thier expression when they see your Eagles gear. They almost look frightened, and always have a look of disdain. When you greet them warmly they hopefully understand that it's not all bad in Philly.
However, I did get snubbed by the Louis Vuitton luggage carrying, big hair wearing daughter(?) of Vikings owner Red McCombs when I jumped onto their elevator as they arrived at the hotel. I gave the family my usual "Welcome to Philadelphia, enjoy the city, and good luck tomorrow" and she gave me a sideways look that said "God I have only been in the hotel for 30 seconds." That of course is why I jumped onto the elevator at the last second. I have a feeling that she's a closet Cowboys fan, McCombs being from Texas.
Panthers fans last year were pretty snooty also. Falcons fans? They just plain did not show up.
How much do I, a transplanted Philly boy living in Southwest Florida want this win? After the Vikings game I decided that the wife and I would fly up and back in one day for the NFC Champ game instead of selling the tickets. We wound up sleeping in the airport the night of the game when US Airways cancelled our flight home. Flew home early the next morning and went right to work in 36 hour old clothes. For the Falcons game we walked the same route through Center City Philly as we did for the Vikes game, stopping at the same coffee shop on the way. We wore the exact same clothes to the game each week, and will today also with the tickets from both games in my pocket. I have not cut my hair or my fingernails since the Vikings game. Each day since the NFC Champ game I have worn one article of clothing that is either Eagles gear or says Philadelphia on it, usually under my business attire.
I'm not obsessive compulsive or usually superstitious......I just want this one badly and have agonized for years along with many millions of fellow Eagles fans. If it means looking like an aging Howard Hughes in an Eagles jersey, so be it.
What will I do if they are unsuccessful? Increase my loyalty - I am splitting a pair of season tickets for next year with the fan who sold me the playoff seats.
Again, good luck to all.
Here's a great piece from today's Philadelphia Inquirer that really encompasses the feelings of Eagles fans and our rabid loyalty.
Keith
Posted on Sun, Feb. 06, 2005
Bill Lyon | Day of Destiny
Prediction: Eagles win and end title drought
By Bill Lyon
Inquirer Columnist
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Forty-four years. That's how long we've kept the candle in the window.
Forty-four years since the Eagles last won the championship of professional football.
Forty-four years.
Six hundred ninety-two games.
Eleven coaches.
Five owners.
Forty-four years.
Sons have become fathers, and fathers have become grandfathers. Women have married and had babies, and those babies have had babies.
Forty-four years.
And now... . Now the Birds are teasingly, tantalizingly, enticingly, seductively close. All that lies between them and victory in Super Bowl XXXIX is a lionhearted opponent that exhibits clinical precision and has unshakable confidence.
This is familiar ground for the New England Patriots, who almost never lose and who are seeking their third triumph in this game in the last four years. Theirs is the stuff of dynasty.
But the Eagles have sailed through the chaos of Circus Maximus this week with impressive aplomb. They do not seem cowed in any way. Nor should they be. Though they remain one-touchdown underdogs, they will win this game.
They will do it primarily with their carnivorous defense, which yielded fewer points than nearly any other in the NFL.
They will do it by prizing every possession and by not committing turnovers as Donovan McNabb, who finally gets to play the big room, manages the game adroitly and cashes in every scoring opportunity.
They will do it by not hobbling themselves with penalties and by not being in awe of a most imposing opponent.
They will, in short, need to play flawless football.
They are capable of that.
It should be a corking good game. These teams have been the best in the league for a long stretch. And while it is the Patriots who keep coming back to this game, it's not as though they have won their two titles by lopsided margins. In fact, both of their Super Bowl wins were the result of last-gasp field goals.
Boston and New England, as you may have heard, are on quite a roll, having in the last year won a Super Bowl and then ended an 86-year journey through the desert by taking a World Series. Tacking on another Super Bowl victory would be on the piggish side.
Hopeful Iggles loyalists have tried to suggest that the Red Sox' Series victory is a favorable omen for Philadelphia, which has been without parade for 22 years - a span covering 86 separate major pro sports seasons. We are, indeed, overdue, but simply being overdue does not take the place of bone-splintering tackling and jump-over-the-moon pass-catching.
And, yes, Terrell Owens, catcher of passes and controversy and an astonishingly rapid healer, will play. The suspicion here is that he will be used when the Birds are near the end zone and he can climb an invisible ladder to haul in lobs. He will become an instant folk hero in the Olde Towne.
The game will also offer an intriguing coaching matchup.
The Patriots are under the direction of Bill Belichick, whose usual attire is a hooded sweatshirt the color of ashes. The hood looks rather like a monk's cowl and offers only the occasional glimpse of the coach's face, which is invariably scrunched in concentration as he devises some new bit of genius.
Belichick has lost only one of 10 playoff games. He is tied in that regard with the sainted Vince Lombardi. His approach is to first take away the opponent's best weapon or preference. This is usually done with an assassin's cool.
The Birds are where Andy Reid said they would be when he took their coaching job half a dozen years ago, though they certainly have not gotten here without travail and torment that has become the stuff of legend.
Reid wears Ben Franklin, granny-style spectacles and covers his mouth with the game plan. He has improved in the area of adjusting on the go. There was a time when the Birds seemed to be outcoached every week. Now you hardly ever hear that.
The Birds' defense must beat Tom Brady, a quarterback who is merely 8-0 in postseason starts. Jim Johnson, the Merlin of defensive coordinators, has waited a lifetime to get to this game. You presume this will be his masterpiece.
On offense, the difference will be Brian Westbrook. As runner, receiver and returner, somewhere, somehow, he will end up matched against someone slower and less agile. He will end up in the end zone.
I make it 24-20, Eagles.
Parade will be Tuesday.
We will discover, to our great pleasure, that we haven't forgotten how to do it.
Bill Lyon |
Eagles vs. Patriots
When: 6:30 tonight
TV: Channel 29
Radio: WYSP-FM (94.1)
Line: Patriots by 7
Weather at Kickoff:63 degrees, partly cloudy
Contact columnist Bill Lyon at 215-854-5508 or blyon@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.phillyphilly.com/lyon.
© 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com
May the best team win.
We are not all the moronic, drunk, beer throwing, spitting, idiots that the media portrays. In my travels to Philly last year and this year for the playoffs I have seen nothing other than some good natured strong ribbing of opposing fans and players. While staying at the visiting team hotel I have always wished players good luck and the same to any visiting fans. It's funny to get on an elevator with the opposing fans and watch thier expression when they see your Eagles gear. They almost look frightened, and always have a look of disdain. When you greet them warmly they hopefully understand that it's not all bad in Philly.
However, I did get snubbed by the Louis Vuitton luggage carrying, big hair wearing daughter(?) of Vikings owner Red McCombs when I jumped onto their elevator as they arrived at the hotel. I gave the family my usual "Welcome to Philadelphia, enjoy the city, and good luck tomorrow" and she gave me a sideways look that said "God I have only been in the hotel for 30 seconds." That of course is why I jumped onto the elevator at the last second. I have a feeling that she's a closet Cowboys fan, McCombs being from Texas.
Panthers fans last year were pretty snooty also. Falcons fans? They just plain did not show up.
How much do I, a transplanted Philly boy living in Southwest Florida want this win? After the Vikings game I decided that the wife and I would fly up and back in one day for the NFC Champ game instead of selling the tickets. We wound up sleeping in the airport the night of the game when US Airways cancelled our flight home. Flew home early the next morning and went right to work in 36 hour old clothes. For the Falcons game we walked the same route through Center City Philly as we did for the Vikes game, stopping at the same coffee shop on the way. We wore the exact same clothes to the game each week, and will today also with the tickets from both games in my pocket. I have not cut my hair or my fingernails since the Vikings game. Each day since the NFC Champ game I have worn one article of clothing that is either Eagles gear or says Philadelphia on it, usually under my business attire.
I'm not obsessive compulsive or usually superstitious......I just want this one badly and have agonized for years along with many millions of fellow Eagles fans. If it means looking like an aging Howard Hughes in an Eagles jersey, so be it.
What will I do if they are unsuccessful? Increase my loyalty - I am splitting a pair of season tickets for next year with the fan who sold me the playoff seats.
Again, good luck to all.
Here's a great piece from today's Philadelphia Inquirer that really encompasses the feelings of Eagles fans and our rabid loyalty.
Keith
Posted on Sun, Feb. 06, 2005
Bill Lyon | Day of Destiny
Prediction: Eagles win and end title drought
By Bill Lyon
Inquirer Columnist
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Forty-four years. That's how long we've kept the candle in the window.
Forty-four years since the Eagles last won the championship of professional football.
Forty-four years.
Six hundred ninety-two games.
Eleven coaches.
Five owners.
Forty-four years.
Sons have become fathers, and fathers have become grandfathers. Women have married and had babies, and those babies have had babies.
Forty-four years.
And now... . Now the Birds are teasingly, tantalizingly, enticingly, seductively close. All that lies between them and victory in Super Bowl XXXIX is a lionhearted opponent that exhibits clinical precision and has unshakable confidence.
This is familiar ground for the New England Patriots, who almost never lose and who are seeking their third triumph in this game in the last four years. Theirs is the stuff of dynasty.
But the Eagles have sailed through the chaos of Circus Maximus this week with impressive aplomb. They do not seem cowed in any way. Nor should they be. Though they remain one-touchdown underdogs, they will win this game.
They will do it primarily with their carnivorous defense, which yielded fewer points than nearly any other in the NFL.
They will do it by prizing every possession and by not committing turnovers as Donovan McNabb, who finally gets to play the big room, manages the game adroitly and cashes in every scoring opportunity.
They will do it by not hobbling themselves with penalties and by not being in awe of a most imposing opponent.
They will, in short, need to play flawless football.
They are capable of that.
It should be a corking good game. These teams have been the best in the league for a long stretch. And while it is the Patriots who keep coming back to this game, it's not as though they have won their two titles by lopsided margins. In fact, both of their Super Bowl wins were the result of last-gasp field goals.
Boston and New England, as you may have heard, are on quite a roll, having in the last year won a Super Bowl and then ended an 86-year journey through the desert by taking a World Series. Tacking on another Super Bowl victory would be on the piggish side.
Hopeful Iggles loyalists have tried to suggest that the Red Sox' Series victory is a favorable omen for Philadelphia, which has been without parade for 22 years - a span covering 86 separate major pro sports seasons. We are, indeed, overdue, but simply being overdue does not take the place of bone-splintering tackling and jump-over-the-moon pass-catching.
And, yes, Terrell Owens, catcher of passes and controversy and an astonishingly rapid healer, will play. The suspicion here is that he will be used when the Birds are near the end zone and he can climb an invisible ladder to haul in lobs. He will become an instant folk hero in the Olde Towne.
The game will also offer an intriguing coaching matchup.
The Patriots are under the direction of Bill Belichick, whose usual attire is a hooded sweatshirt the color of ashes. The hood looks rather like a monk's cowl and offers only the occasional glimpse of the coach's face, which is invariably scrunched in concentration as he devises some new bit of genius.
Belichick has lost only one of 10 playoff games. He is tied in that regard with the sainted Vince Lombardi. His approach is to first take away the opponent's best weapon or preference. This is usually done with an assassin's cool.
The Birds are where Andy Reid said they would be when he took their coaching job half a dozen years ago, though they certainly have not gotten here without travail and torment that has become the stuff of legend.
Reid wears Ben Franklin, granny-style spectacles and covers his mouth with the game plan. He has improved in the area of adjusting on the go. There was a time when the Birds seemed to be outcoached every week. Now you hardly ever hear that.
The Birds' defense must beat Tom Brady, a quarterback who is merely 8-0 in postseason starts. Jim Johnson, the Merlin of defensive coordinators, has waited a lifetime to get to this game. You presume this will be his masterpiece.
On offense, the difference will be Brian Westbrook. As runner, receiver and returner, somewhere, somehow, he will end up matched against someone slower and less agile. He will end up in the end zone.
I make it 24-20, Eagles.
Parade will be Tuesday.
We will discover, to our great pleasure, that we haven't forgotten how to do it.
Bill Lyon |
Eagles vs. Patriots
When: 6:30 tonight
TV: Channel 29
Radio: WYSP-FM (94.1)
Line: Patriots by 7
Weather at Kickoff:63 degrees, partly cloudy
Contact columnist Bill Lyon at 215-854-5508 or blyon@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.phillyphilly.com/lyon.
© 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com
0
Comments
With a post like that, Joe Stalin is remembering what his true colors once were .... Eagles Green and Silver
On the road to victory,
Fly, Eagles fly,
Score a touchdown 1, 2, 3,
Hit 'em low, hit 'em high,
And watch our Eagles fly,
So fly, Eagles fly,
On the road to victory!
E! A! G! L! E! S! EAGLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul