'Mo Betta Blues “The Buffalo Soldiers, dredlock Rasta’s...”
Lauren Hill – Ready Or Not
The Philadelphia Eagles will enter their 5th NFC Championship game (6th in team history) within the last 8 years, and what’s more surprising than the Eagles opportunity at a Super Bowl berth...is the fact that they will face the Arizona Cardinals.
Bridesmaid, never the bride
The Eagles tied the Bengals (week 11), and lost to the Ravens (week 12), while the Cardinals lost 4 of their last 5 games of the regular season, as no one saw this day approaching, and that’s why the NFL is so great...especially this year. The two teams did meet in Philly, during a week 13, battle of the Birds, on Thanksgiving, with the Eagles prevailing 48-20. The Eagles are the favorite to advance this Sunday, but if they lose either the NFC Championship game or the Super Bowl, then they will qualify for an infamous title, that only the Buffalo Bills fans could understand. Misery loves company, so I wouldn’t be surprised if their fans welcomed Eagles revelers with open arms.
So how tortured are the fans that cheer in the frozen artic of Ralph Wilson Stadium...to put it simply, it’s like being a Red Sox fan circa October 1986. The Bills were a superb team in their days of AFL supremacy, winning back to back titles in ’64, and ’65...prior to the AFL/NFL merger. Since those glory days of yesteryear they returned to a quasi state of prominence beginning in 1990.
Buffalo won the AFC Championship in 1990, 1991, 1992, and again in 1993, however in these four straight trips to the big show, they came up empty each and every time...making their dominance over the AFC, more of a late night talk show hosts’ joke, than any point of strength.
The Atlanta Braves had their fair share of World Series let downs; however they earned their respect from the sports world, by winning it all in 1995 over the Cleveland Indians. The Eagles can equally erase the losses of their past, by winning a Super Bowl within this Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb era. Like the Bills, the Eagles have never won the BIG game, as they boast 2 NFC Championship Trophies, and 3 NFL Championships, ’48, ’49, and ’60. The first Super Bowl was played 7 years later on January 15, 1967, thus diminishing the luster of the Eagles’ 3 NFL Championships.
In life and in sport, things don’t always work out the way they should, but all the ‘Birds (Eagles) have to do, is win...it sounds easy, but it’s not.
Any loss within the next two games would prove to be quite the conundrum. The expectations in the City of Brotherly Love are high, after the Eagles did the impossible by not only making the playoffs, but they have beaten the defending champions, as well as the Minnesota Vikings. The Phillies sparked the retro feelings of 1980, and with victories in the next two games, the Eagles can bring to fruition, what was once a childhood dream.
These are interesting times, as a new President will take office next week, and Philadelphia could possibly emerge as TITLETOWN USA.
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4 comments:
Good write Anthony! I must say I am getting excited :) Just being cautious because I was there for one of those upsets and it HURT! Freezing in the stands just to see them loose was a horrible feeling. You could hear a pin drop as the fans left the vet stadium with our heads down. Despite that, I'm secretly feeling the fever!!
Thank you. I really don't want to talk about the Eagles, however I can't help but to write about them. The game on Sunday is critical to not only the city, but also to the franchise.
..and the franchise player.
Faith without works is dead. We can hope all we want, but we need these wins. Let's go Birds!
4 heartbreaking years. Especially the year that they lost by a field goal. That was the same year that Florida State lost the "chip" by a field goal. I didn't even want to go outside after those games.
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