There is nothing on this planet like being an Eagles fan. I know what the non Eagles fans are saying already. We are losers, we are scumbags, I already know what you’re gonna say before you say it. But wanna know something… Its true.
We are scumbags and trash and I love that. We are raw and crazy and outlandish and YOU are afraid to walk into our stadium with your teams colors on. YOU are afraid to come in here and root for your team. And some of that isnt fair to us, people go into a 49ers stadium and die or end up paralyzed but if you think we are such trash and scum you have a fear of coming here.. Good. Im sure youll tell us on twitter that we have one ring, and feel good about your 1993 superbowl and good on you, but i know you wont come into are house and say that, because we live in the mud, and you cant survive in the mud.
Now its 2018 and the Philadelphia Eagles went from projected 8-8 to Superbowl champs. It was a wild year Carson Wentz tears his ACL, plays 4 more plays and throws a TD on 4th down for his team. As a city it hurt. We were ready to go all the way. We believed. We watched and we watched and this team got better every week. We thought it was all taken away and over. We were wishing it was a bad dream wanting to wake up soon, asking god why, texting our friends, tweeting searching for answers, but they would never come. Then Nick Foles stepped in and changed everything. It wasn’t easy. At first he looked good, then bad, then awful, then really bad. Just like that, he walks into the NFC Championship Game and plays like a super hero. We began to believe again.
This team is apart of our family here. You can live in Virginia or Philadelphia, South Jersey or California and its all the same. This team these fans are family. We dont always agree, sometimes we fight but we love each other. Last year went from our year to a nightmare back to a dream come true. Last year had turned into a great relationship with a beautiful woman (or man) with great sex amazing nights and memories and just like that.. its over, and then you realized all the fighting and nonsense wasnt worth it, you get back together get married and live happily ever after. It’s like being apart of a family that you hate sometimes, but always remember you need each other.
I can admit i am not the worlds greatest son. My pops and I dont have the best relationship because we are exactly a like. Hard headed and stubborn. But, we always have the Eagles. No matter whats going on win or lose my dad and I can talk for hours about the Birds. 11-2 or 2-11 happy or sad they are a constant in our relationship. I’ll never forget being in 7th grade sitting next to my dad on the couch when McNabb threw that interception to Rodney Harrison in the superbowl. I cried, i put my head in my dads chest and cried. I asked him why and he said “I dont know… but one day.” Then 15 years later Carson Wentz was out for the season and I felt like that 7th grader that wants to put his head on his dads chest and cry just so I can hear “I dont know.. but one day”. Little did I know that one day would come weeks later.
I stood next to my dad in our living room right before Brandon Graham forced that fumble. We jumped up and down losing our minds. Then the ball came out. We got it back. Time seemed to tick slow but we knew it was ours. The clock finally hit 0:00 and we screamed, we cried and hugged. That was the closest I’ve been with my dad in 26 years, and on my death bed I’ll remember that, I’ll remember the good times, I’ll remember the Eagles.
Thats what the Eagles are for me. They are a connection between my father and I. For you that may be a memory of someone from your passed. A friend, a grandparent, maybe a girl you brought to the game for a date once. A lot of us have grandparents no longer here that we miss and will never got to see the superbowl, some of us think of them. For me its my father, I know the day it comes to say goodbye to him, I’ll place an Eagles jersey next to him and a newspaper of the day the Eagles won it all, but a million rings wont make me forget that moment crying on his chest when he made me believe.
They have a meaning that goes beyond football. They have a meaning that goes beyond sport. I love the Philadelphia Eagles for that. They make me cry they make me happy, they give me joy, they bring me tears. But I love them.
Its so rare that something can make you feel so emotional and so raw the way the Eagles can. I am sure im not the only person that can say the Eagles have brought them closer to a parent, a family member or a friend. But thats how it is here. This team for better or worse is family. This year meant the world to me and my family as well as my friends and extended Eagles family. I thank God for making me an Eagles fan, despite all of the heartbreak, the sadness, the tears and now the joy, I wouldnt trade it for the world. I love my Eagles family, and there is nothing like being a Philadelphia Eagles fan.
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