Me at about 7 years old, meeting the Philadelphia Eagles (circa 1979)
The odds were against the Eagles making the playoffs this year. In order for it to be a possibility, two other teams, the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who were favored by 13 points against the Raiders) would have to lose. Not only that, but the Eagles would have to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, who were themselves fighting for a place in the playoffs.
Both Chicago and Tampa lost their games, and the Eagles had to know this as they took the field in this important late-afternoon game, because they sure played like their season was on the line, defeating Dallas by an amazing 44-6.
This lifelong Eagles fan was holding his breath even into the 3rd quarter — we’ve learned not to take anything for granted in this NFL — but there would be no late-game comeback for the Cowboys this time, as there have been so many times in the past.
Maybe it had something to do with the Phillies World Series win earlier this year, making Philadelphia teams hungry for another big win.
And while nobody knows for sure if McNabb or Reid will be returning next year, they did get us where we are today, and that’s worth something.
As much as it might be a long-shot for the Eagles to get to the Super Bowl, it’s more of a possibility today than it was before yesterday afternoon. There’s a chance, and that’s enough for this Eagles fan on a brisk, cool Monday morning.
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Chris Beck
29 December 2008 at 10:46 am
Hey Dan, nice write up. I guess I am not the only Rails developer who likes to blog about football :)
I have been impressed with the Eagles over the last several weeks. I think they will be a force to be reckoned with, which is potentially problematic for my Panthers. However, at least we wouldn’t have to face you guys until the Championship game should we meet.
Good luck next week!
Scott Williams
29 December 2008 at 12:46 pm
You should let Gruber know about this game, I don’t know if he saw the outcome yet.
Dan Benjamin
29 December 2008 at 1:31 pm
@Chris - I think football and Rails go perfectly together. Too bad football season isn’t still going on at Railsconf. The panthers are a great team, and I enjoyed watching them when I was living in the Raleigh, NC area. They have a good shot this year.
@Scott - I’m wondering if I can rent out the billboard facing his apartment in downtown Philly ...
Keith Jacobs
29 December 2008 at 1:50 pm
So painful, so very painful. As a life-long Cowboys fan, I knew they’d have no chance at making a run for the Super Bowl, but I sure would have liked to see them make the playoffs. What a shalacking, though! My wife asked me why it only took me 30 minutes to watch the game on the DVR and I told her the final score. She isn’t a big sports fan, but she really twisted the dagger when she said quite matter-of-factly, “Oh, well, I guess the Cowboys didn’t really deserve to go to playoffs then. Maybe next year?”
Pat Maddox
29 December 2008 at 5:42 pm
Congrats. I’m a huge Broncos fan, and am pretty depressed at how we did the exact opposite. Enjoy the playoffs :)
KJ
12 January 2009 at 11:31 am
I think the odds just got a little better! Go Birds.