Happy to be there?
In the latest entry to his Super Blog, Sports Guy Bill Simmons pumps up the Patriots' chances tomorrow by talking about how much fun Eagles fans are having in Jacksonville.
Say it with me now... Huh?
Here's what Simmons saw at a party he went to:
There were various clusters of Eagles fans spread around the party, all of whom were wearing Eagles hats and/or Eagles jackets, like they were tailgating outside of Veterans Stadium or something. I talked to some of them and enjoyed the conversations -- they were VERY giddy and VERY drunk, plus they kept the trash-talking to a minimum (which I appreciated). But one thing cracked me up -- many of them were wearing "NFC Champions" hats, one of the all-time "Happy to be there" red flags.
Okay, so he saw Eagles fans wearing (gasp!) Eagles garb. And they were drinking a lot. He sounds a bit surprised, and I can't help but wonder if he's ever been to an Eagles game in Philadelphia. This is what Eagles fans do. And the people making the trip down to Jacksonville are likely to be the most devoted fans, so of course they're going to be wearing hats and jackets. Hell, I'm pissed off with myself for not bringing any Eagles stuff back to England to wear now.
From this, Simmons reaches the following conclusion. "I can't shake the feeling that both the Eagles and their fans already had their Super Bowl, getting past the NFC Title game after three straight agonizing losses. Maybe I'm wrong."
Yeah, I think you're wrong. First of all, I don't think Eagles fans are just happy to be there and I certainly don't think they had their Super Bowl two weeks ago. I can only speak for myself, but I'll be pretty pissed if the Eagles don't win tomorrow night. They've been too good a team over the past few years not to win a Super Bowl. Philadelphia has exactly one major sports championship in my lifetime, and that was back in 1983. Were the Red Sox satisfied making it the World Series this past fall? Didn't think so.
But, even more importantly, how the hell does Simmons get from Eagles fans being satisfied with just being at the Super Bowl to the Eagles themselves "already had their Super Bowl"? Do the fans get to play now? Do they get to make motivational speeches in the locker room? What possible effect could fan attitudes towards the game have on how the Eagles actually play tomorrow night?
I think the Eagles recognize that there's still one game left in their season and that, yes, this game matters. Terrell Owens, ankle screws and all, will suit up and play tomorrow night because he knows that you don't get many chances to play in a Super Bowl. He's playing because he wants to win a Super Bowl, and you can be damn sure the rest of the team feels the same way.
posted by Danny @ 3:58 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
You are one disgruntled Eagles fan. I think you need to keep in mind The Sports Guy is a rabid Patriots fan so of course he is not going to paint Eagles fans in the best light.
I also think you are being somewhat unfair to him. He did state, and not sarcastically, that his judgement could be wrong.
I hope your anger over the Eagles loss has abated. Better time management classes next year migh help.
Huh. I don't really think of myself as disgruntled. Disappointed, sure, but not disgruntled.
Of course Bill Simmons is going to cast Eagles fans in a negative light. I'm not surprised by it... I'd be rather shocked if he had only good things to say about them.
What bothered me most was the jump he made from talking about Eagles fans to talking about the Eagles themselves. I think it's perfectly fair to argue that his justification for thinking the Eagles weren't going to be at their best for the game makes no sense. That Simmons admitted he might be wrong doesn't let him off the hook for sloppy thinking in the first place.
For what it's worth, I wrote this entry before the game, so I'm not sure where you're getting that I was angry. Sure, I was pretty pissed at the poor clock management towards the end of the game, but afterwards it was more disappointment than anything else. But you get used to this sort of thing rooting for Philadelphia sports teams.
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