Here we go....

So the Eagles season starts tonight. If they are mediocre or even bad this year I will have a terrible Fall. If they are good I will be content but a bit nervous. I've never been the kind of fan who thinks "my team is the best". I'm not going to brag too much when they win and I will ignore it when they lose. I won't watch TV or listen to the radio to dissect what went wrong. In my case misery does not love company.

Some of my attitudes are just part of being a Philadelphia sports fan. There have been books written about our psychology, our penchant for bad behavior and our sad plight. We have four pro teams and no Championship since 1983. That's 22 years and around 88 separate seasons without a title. I don't consider myself a typical rowdy Philly sports fan (I don't even like to say Philly- it sounds low class). I have been in attendance at several of the major events of bad behavior in Philadelphia sports history - but I wasn't really part of the problem (more on that another time).

Now just watching the ESPN pre-game show - which I usually skip- I find out before the game officially starts that Eagles defensive stallwart Jeremiah Trotter has been ejected for a "fight" during pregame warm-ups. I was maybe expecting a Hockey game to break out. It was really just a shoving match and I don't even think Trotter threw a punch. Anyway its a bad omen. At least he will just be out for one game. Now its nail biting time.

PS: Yes, they lost. And it was hard because they were in it the whole way.
Sometimes blow-outs are easier. I was discussing Trotters' supposed "fight" with my boss this morning. I told her that I didn't really think he was fighting- he just looked like he was in it - he didn't even throw a punch. but it didn't matter- he was out anyway. Wisely, she came back with "You know I've never been accused of "looking" like I was fighting"
Sometimes wrong place wrong time. Wrong way to start the year.