History was made the weekend of February fourth 2018. Our beloved team finally made the big win. After years of wanting; after years of practicing; after years of being the Underdog. Our Eagles did it. And we could not have shown our pride more if we even tried. We are slowly turning into the city that never sleeps; all in the name of the Eagles.
We have fans of all ages. I know preschoolers who are just learning their alphabet who know the lyrics to “Fly, Eagles, Fly”. They can spell “E A G L E S” but not their own name. How amazing is that? We have fans who have been waiting their entire life for this win; and for some, that life is over 80 years. I even know dogs who have a passion for our team.
Image source: my boyfriend's mom's Facebook.
We have passion. Passion for the wins and losses. We have a passion for our team and each other. The boys said it best themselves, “We all we got, we all we need”.
We love our team so much we are willing to party in the streets of Philly for four days straight. There are people chanting in unison, a few who make the not-so-great-decision to climb street lamps, and some others who decided to eat horse feces. What a world. This is just how excited we are that we are in the middle of a historic moment. In the entire history of the Eagles franchise, this is the first Super Bowl win. The very first since they began in 1933.
We love our team during the ups and downs, the highs and lows. The last time they were named as “NFL Champions” (before there was even a Super Bowl) was in 1960. Since then, they landed in the playoffs 25 times, some of those games coming close to tasting victory again. When we had the Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb dynasty, we got comfortable with having a solid season but never getting to that triumphant ending. We were dancing with the idea of that wonderful trophy. We went through some experimental phases with Chip Kelly, and yet the fans remained devoted.
Enter Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz.
Image source: http://phillyinfluencer.com
This year, we had the dream team. We have a brand-new coach, brand-new quarterback, brand-new strategies. (See Nick Foles’ touchdown reception). Everything seemed to mesh well. We had exactly who we needed. You can chalk this win up to being at the right place at the right time, but I think this win was a long time coming. This win was meant to be. And this generation is so lucky to be right in the middle of this monumental event.
The fans have been through quite a lot. We have had our hearts played with. We have played with hearts. Never forget, the winter of 1968 when Eagles fans booed Santa Claus. In our defense, he did deserve it. Eagles fans will always face the stigma of being too overjoyed, of being too excitable, of being too passionate. We riot if we lose, and riot if we win. It’s better to care too much than to not care at all. After all, we bleed green.