The score was 15-10, and the clock was not moving fast enough. It was cold but not as cold as the meaningless New Year’s Eve game against Dallas. Maybe anxiety generates heat. But, funny how it started feeling colder and colder as the Atlanta Falcons were driving for the winning touchdown that would, unsurprisingly, end… Continue reading Looking for the Flag
Category: Sports
Snowballs and Dad
A Twitter video posted by the Eagles got me thinking this week about the origins of my devotion to Philly sports teams. On the video (VIEW HERE) a “snowball”, on behalf of his brethren, finally apologized to Santa for an incident in 1967. As Philadelphia football fans know, Eagles fans are still periodically vilified by the… Continue reading Snowballs and Dad
Fateball
The Fates obviously were shaking their collective heads at our Super Bowl hubris and decided this cannot come to pass (pun intended). Darren Sproles. “So, there.” Jason Peters. “They don’t get it.” Jordan Hicks and Chris Maragos. “Duh.” Wentz. We get it now. Any Eagles fans out there surprised that catastrophe struck last Sunday afternoon? Didn’t think… Continue reading Fateball
#34
I had a ticket to Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in the playoffs against the Reds in 2010. A stomach virus flattened me that morning, however, and I had to give the ticket away. I watched baseball history from the discomfort of my family room, a bucket next to me. But I didn’t miss a pitch. I’ve… Continue reading #34
Sports and SOB’s
Once upon a time, sports were an escape. All that mattered were the results on the field and how we got to that final score. The personal lives and politics of players, no matter how despicable, were not topics to be covered on the sports pages. Readers turned to the sports pages to forget about… Continue reading Sports and SOB’s
The Endzone View
Since the Eagles home opener is coming up Sunday, I am sharing a memoir piece I wrote a few years ago. It was published in Green Hills Literary Lantern SEAT 9 In the best of times, we see each other six, seven, eight times a year. Nine at most. I look forward to the meetings.… Continue reading The Endzone View
Low Expectations and Diapers
Today’s Eagles game was not a white-knuckle event. Ben Franklin, an adopted Philadelphian who presciently anticipated the psychology of the contemporary Philadelphia sports fan, said, “If you expect the worst, you will never be disappointed.” Perfect. Just about every angst-ridden Eagles’ fan knew, from the moment the schedule came out, that today’s game in Kansas… Continue reading Low Expectations and Diapers
White-Knuckle Viewing
The Eagles kicked off the season in Washington today. The first Sunday of white-knuckle viewing, analogous to having your eyelids taped open while taking a 16-year-old driver on his first trip on the Schuylkill Expressway: a steady diet of “what did you do that fors?” and “oh my Gods” and “watch outs” and “I’m gonna… Continue reading White-Knuckle Viewing
The Q-View 