CAN BOSTON FANS HELP OUT A PHILLY BOY?
My name is [REDACTED ON ACCOUNT OF SHAME] and I am a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Since Sunday night, I feel like acid is burning a hole in my gut. Hopefully it is one of those psychosomatic thngs, but who the hell knows?
Anyway, I turn to you, Red Sox nation in my hour of need.
Before I get to my problem, I need to set the stage with some background.
-SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT RED SOX FANS
For about a thousand years -- give or take -- you yearned for a World Series win. Until 2004, you suffered while the hated Yankees win title after title.
And then, in '86 -- when it you finally had the champagne all set to spray all over your nice furniture -- it all slipped away. Instead of you and your Red Sox, it was (of course) that other New York baseball team that popped the corks and held a parade.
I imagine that, other than watching Ray Knight cross the plate with his hands clasped atop that purple-blue batting helmut (yes, I realize that was Game 6), the low point for you was probably the improbable Aaron Boone playoff walk-off donger (did he ever hit another home run?) in Yankee Stadium about a decade ago.
If you can remember the pain of those crushing disappointments, then perhaps you can help me.
-MY PROBLEM? THE NY GIANTS.
First, I do understand that many citizens of Red Sox Nation also live on Patriot Planet. Certainly you are still hurting from Sunday night. But my guess is that the pain is a little less intense courtesy of three relatively recent Lombardis, God knows how many NBA titles, and that shiny silver cup that the Bruins currently own.
The Superbowl hurt a lot, but not because I am a Pats fan (though I am a big Tom Brady fan).
No, my pain has a different source. And before I reveal myself, I ask that you consider our shared love of Curt Shilling before you blow me off.
-MY TORTURED PAST
I grew up in a town called Cherry Hill. It is in NJ, about 10 miles from where the Vet once stood at Broad and Pattison in South Philly. In the spring and summer -- and, recently, parts of the fall -- my blood is candy apple red (like the Pinstripes on a Phillies home uniform). The rest of the year - I bleed Eagles green. Yes, I am a big Flyers fan, and no, I didn't miss a Sixers-Celtics game back in the Dr.J / Larry Bird era. But I digress.
-THE SOURCE OF MY PAIN
The Eagles... my god, the Eagles. Lots and lots of wins in the past 15 years or so - far more than any other NFC East team; probably the most in the NFC.
A bunch of playoff wins too. And I don't need to remind you Patriots fans about Superbowl XXXIX. McNabb puking. T.O. flapping. And the Patriots winning, 24-21. I was there in the front row. At least the Eagles covered.
My adopted hometown -- now that I am a "grown-up" -- is as close to the Meadowlands as my childhood home was to the dear departed Vet. Needless to say, I am an Eagle fan in the heart of enemy territory. THIS is Giants country.
Most of the time, I enjoy the usually friendly (and occasionally quite unfriendly) trash talk and taunting with the native population. After all, I attended many very exciting and enjoyable (for me) Eagles - Giants games at the Meadowlands.
Just last season, I had the time of my life. You remember the game - 7 minutes left in the 4th, Eagles down 24 points (give or take). Then 28 points for the Birds in record time, capped by DeSean Jackson's punt return. Even this year, the Eagles came north and beat the Giants. And that was with the very bad Vince Young at QB.
My 11 yr old son - I admit I brainwashed him - and I enjoyed that one. Poor boy had to deal with school this past Monday morning. He was probably the only kid not wearing an Eli Manning jersey. And so, it comes down to this. You, as Red Sox fans, hate the Yankees in the same exact way that I despise the Giants (I also hate the Cowboys, but Dallas is far far away). I love my team and I always will. But this Super Bowl win by "BIG BLUE" hurts bad.
All the Division Titles, playoff wins and regular season beat-downs of the Giants (and Cowboys) during the Andy Reid era have been fun. We missed the playoffs this year, but that is a rare occurrence since Jeff Lurie bought the Eagles.
Still, the FACT REMAINS - WE HAVE NEVER WON THE SUPER BOWL.
-THE HARD PART (my take on the Giants success)
Somehow, the Giants make the playoffs almost by default (bad regular season year for the entire NFC East), then they caught fire and won the Big One. Second time in five years. And, while I realize how well Eli Mannng played throughout the post-season, and can even admit that he was very good in the regular season, I cannot say the same for his team.
The following sentence is true: The Giants were NOT a good football team during the season.
Neither were the Eagles, in case you thought I was heading that way.
Remember this - the Giants lost 5 out of 6 games prior to beating the Jets in their 15th game. BIG BLUE WAS blown out by the Redskins at HOME late in the season. And THE REDSKINS are barely an NFL team these days.
In fact, in their final eight games of the regular season, the NY Football Giants beat exactly 2 teams: The Cowboys (twice) and the Jets.
The Giants did not -- despite the conventional wisdom --- turn things around in that Jets game.
In fact, it was a terrible display of football by both teams (Victor Cruz excepted). Anyone who watched the game, even the most biased Giants fan, knows that the G-Men tried very hard to hand that game to the Jets over and over and over again.
Only the pathetic play of Mark Sanchez -- in one of the worst quarterbacked games at any level in the history of football, including the ESRFL (elementary school recess football league) -- and an unforgettable 99 yard TD by Cruz allowed the Giants to eke out a win over a Jets team that had already been in free-fall for weeks.
And the Cowboys, the team the Giants beat in the season finale, were an awful team, period.
Yes, the Giants won a bad division and got to the dance, but they never "turned it around" before the playoffs.
To be clear, none of that changes the fact that the Giants were a totally different team in the playoffs. They got in. They won it all. They are the Champs.
And they almost deserved it. Actually, they did deserve it. I say almost only because Ahmad Bradshaw made one of the most inexcusable mistakes ever in the big game when he flopped into the end zone. The truth is that NY played great and - as hard as it is for me to say - they were the best team in the NFL in the playoffs and Super Bowl.
One other small issue (small because it worked out ok for the Giants) about the Giants last drive-
Why did the Giants even hand the ball off to Bradshaw? This is a franchise that has suffered some miracle losses after all (as any Eagle fan can tell you), and Bradshaw is a known fumbler. Coughlin should have had Eli take a knee a few times, and then kick the field goal with 20 seconds left, no?
So the Giants now have 4 rings. Cowboys 5 (I think). Even the Redskins have a bunch.
That leaves we, the loyal, intense, and tough fans of the Philadelphia Eagles forever waiting for next year. I am 43, so -- knock on wood -- I should have a lot of next years left in the tank.
-NOW, ABOUT THE BLOODY SOCK AND MY PLEA TO RED SOX NATION
This is where I need some affirmation, or confirmation (or some other "mation") from formerly long suffering Red Sox fans.
For the love of the bloody sock (again - we all love Shill), PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that 8 decades of waiting till next year made the 2004 World Championship the greatest sports moment of your lives. I need something to latch onto.
When I console my son each season, I use the Red Sox as the example of how sweet winning will be after so much heartbreak. True, he's only been suffering for 11 years. But, as he likes to say, to him it feels like an entire lifetime...
Yours Truly,Joe Picarcik (not really)
By Brett Sherman
