The Philadelphia Eagles. What They Mean To Me.

NFL Football. In my opinion it is the best sport ever created. I am so over the top as an Eagles fan that it is nuts.
The Philadelphia Eagles. Tough. Smart. Passionate. Talented. Intense.
Now what can any rational man/woman try to explain when they speak of love for a simple sporting event and try to sound rational? Not easy I guess. Let me try.
My Dad hated sports. He viewed them as a wasted effort. He hated when I played. He was much more comfortable with teaching me how to track. How to survive in any given situation. How to come out on top when the odds were stacked against me. He taught me well. "Study your enemy. Know what he is thinking. Make him think he knows what you're thinking while he doesn't. Then do what needs to be done."
My Pop Pop was the antithesis. He supported me in my sports endeavors. I was a sprinter in track and field. My finest moment was in the relay. After a team mate dropped the baton, I made up the distance and dove across the finish for the win. Lucky I have such a big nose!
I was a safety in football. I hit people as hard as I could. I would never - not ever - offer a hand to help up an opponent during a game. But after the game was over, I would be the first to shake their hands and say 'Good Game'.

Philadelphia Eagles.
They are the embodiment of a tough team. Always have been. Look at some of these players.

Concrete Charlie
Reggie White
Jerome Brown
Andre Watters
Clyde Simmons
Eric Allen
Byron Evans
Wes Hopkins
Seth Joyner
Brian Dawkins
Jeremiah Trotter

The list goes on forever.........

The Philadelphia Eagles are what this city is about. Regular guys who do their job well, and don't get in trouble off the field.

You can tell if the Eagles won or lost by my attitude the days after a game. I am all smiles, or all business with no fluff depending on the outcome. I pace before and during the game. I scream like a mad man. I am so quiet waiting for a meaningful play to start that you could hear a pin drop. Then I scream some more! I speak for many. The team means that much. Simply amazing. The entire city rallies around every game. The current ownership is amazing. They allow tailgaiting, and simply ask that you not get sloppy or stupid. They have so many fireworks for every game it's awesome. When the Eagles score the fireworks fly! When the Eagles win, it's like being in Disney World. The Eagles front office supports so many charities. Breast Cancer awareness. You can buy pink Jerseys, caps, and Tees, with the dollars going to cancer awareness. Childrens vision, as well as many many other important things. Jeffrey Lurie and his wife Christina (The owners of the Eagles) get it. They give back. The players are so accessible it's amazing. It's tough to come up with a charity event where some Eagles are not involved. Heck, in the off season many of the Eagles are members of Homes for Humanity which is a charity where they they toil and sweat building homes for the underpriviledged. They do not tolerate players who are bad citizens. They will sacrifice the abilities of a fantastic athlete and trade him in order to maintain good standing in the community. That my friends is pretty cool.
What might I give back for this? All I have is my loyalty. I cheer. I scream. I do what little I can. I don't use the word respect often, but I can say from the top to the bottom of the EAGLES organization that I respect them greatly.

I wear my Green proudly. I have a thing for Eagles. Whether they are Screaming with a 101 patch on their shoulder, or hard hitting athletes with an NFL logo on theirs I am a fan.

Excellent post my friend. I don't think I have to tell you that I feel the exact same way, but I will anyway.

I've been an Eagles fan since birth, which is odd considering I was born in Kentucky. I bleed green and I always will. I don't know how many other people you'll find this far away from their team who are still as passionate as I am.

I wear something Eagles to work every Friday (casual), and I've got enough memorabilia in my house to annoy my wife. Heck, when my daughter was born and we were getting her first pictures taken, I insisted that one of them be in the newborn size Eagles cheerleader outfit I bought for her the day I found out my wife was pregnant.

To some, this might sound silly or over the top, especially for something as trivial as a sports team. But like Lombozo said, it's more than that to me.

Us Eagles fans are like a family. We stick together in support of our team, and we never give up on them.

Thanks for another fantastic thread buddy, and GO EAGLES!

Well I wish your Eagles best of luck, but I think most people will be jumping on the Cardinals bandwagon. The Cardinals are not getting any respect. Once again they find themselves underdogs, at home no less.

When the Cards got demolished by my Pats by 40 points in the second to last game of the season, I thought they were a dead team. Peter King has a nice piece about what the Cards had to go through after that beat down (11 hour flight home), and that it actually helped them refocus.

But stuff like this is what makes the NFL so great. The saying never gets old "any giving Sunday".

But no matter who wins out of the Eagles and the Cards, I think they will have a tough time playing the winner of the AFC.

I am happy that the Eagles returned to the NFC championship game without T.O.

[edit on 13-1-2009 by testrat]