Perhaps I should reword that title as I’m an Eagles fan too, but perhaps it’s also better to distance myself from the subject this time. Philadelphia Eagles football fans are masochists. On my recent Disney Cruise of the Western Caribbean many pitiful Eagles fans gathered in the Diversions sports bar onboard to watch the Sunday game against the Washington Redskins.
It was quite a event for a people watcher like me who only usually gets to observe one or two family members or friends watch the Eagles. This was a small group of strangers brought together by a common denominator – misery, um, I mean, loyalty to a local sports team.
There were several games being viewed at Diversions that day, a different one on each of many TV screens. The biggest screen, well over ten feet across, and the one with the sound up, was Indianapolis and Houston. This was an exciting game and the one most folks were there to see, and there was much applause, high-fiving and hooting and jumping up and down. The Colts were apparently playing real football. There was much joy and celebration.
As I said, that was a great game, but still the Eagles game had its viewers as well scattered around one silent TV screen. Philadelphia fans had a whole different pattern of behavior. They would punch the furniture, curse under their breath, grab their heads in frustration, and even pull out their own hair. Repeatedly this happened for over two hours.
When the Indianapolis game was over and the Eagles game was at a 24-24 tie with three minutes left, the bar moved it to the big screen. Even in the hope of the fans there was a subtle feeling of desperation. We had been here before. Eventually after a field goal and running out the clock, the Eagles did win. And that’s a good thing, hey, I could watch the Eagles lose at home.
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