Well, here we are again. It’s a new semester. A new year. A fresh start. New beginnings…and endings. The Philadelphia Eagles lost the NFC Championship game for the third year in a row. Well, here we are again. As much as I don’t want to talk about it anymore, I need to put it in writing and get it out of my system.The season ended for the Eagles much like it began, bleak and miserably. The 0 and 2 start, the Rush and Donovan race issue. But then winning nine straight games, the infamous 4th and 26 to beat the “destined” Green Bay Packers. But these words and numbers mean nothing now. Everything was a means to an end. And the end came sooner than most were expecting.
Anything short of getting to and winning Super Bowl XXXVIII for the Eagles is a failure. You won’t hear any true Eagles fan say, “Well at least they got to the championship game.” Nope, it doesn’t work like that. When it was time for Philadelphia to step up and come out on top, they didn’t just fail, they failed to show up. Well here we are again.
Eagles Head Coach,Andy Reid had his team on a five-year plan. Well guess what year this was? When is somebody going to take responsibility and earn this city a parade? And I’m not just talking about football. The 76ers had their run at the Lakers a couple years ago, but stumbled and fell face first on the court, never to really gain composure again. The Phillies are getting better, but still fall short of a World Series caliber team. The Flyers get to the playoffs every season, but like the Eagles, when the big game(s) come knocking at their door, they’re scared to answer. The city of Philadelphia is exhausted and tired of being let down. You can only kick a hurt dog so many times.
Concerning a city such as Philadelphia that regards its sports not as games, but as a religion, Im surprised there hasn’t been a law passed that prohibits profound heart-break due to loss. Call it neglect, call it abuse, but maybe some sort of penalty should be brought down on a team, player, or organization that repeatedly upsets a city and it’s sports fans. Hey, even in Monopoly, when a player rolls doubles three times in a row, they’re sent directly to jail. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. When a team loses the championship game three times in a row, etc., etc., etc. Of course, all this is nonsense. You don’t scare a team into winning, just like you don’t scare a parent into good parenting. It comes from dedication, hard work and love.
That’s where the problem is: Love. Right now, Philly is the City of Brotherly ____. But once again, the love isn’t just a means to an end, it is the means and it is the end.
I believe in order for the love to return back to Philadelphia, in order for the love to come back to the fans and players and teams, we need the big win. Victory. But the paradox is just that, without the love, I donøt see any of the Philly teams winning.
So we need the love to win, but the only way to get the love is to win. Now we’re stuck.
If Philadelphia regards sports as a religion, then Philadelphia needs a messiah, a savior that will bring some love into the city. I don’t necessarily mean one man on a team playing the part of a hero; that won’t do. I mean the collective will of team, city and fan alike. I say, let’s generate some temporary love until we win and the real stuff shows up. Because, man, we are a desperate bunch right now and desperate times call for desperate measures. Philadelphia is playing Monopoly and it has already rolled two doubles in a row. But here we are again, shaking our fist with two dice rattling around inside. Have faith and let ’em roll.
Matthew Wunder is a junior majoring in communication and minoring in creative writing.