Not About Football

This post is not about football.

It isn't about how amazing the Philadelphia Eagles were yesterday, against the Bears.

It isn't about how the Packers got an early holiday gift from the Eagles when the Eagles beat the Bears.

It isn't about how next Sunday will be exciting, with the two winner-takes-all games between the Eagles and the Cowboys and the Packers and the Bears.

It isn't about how the Eagles-Cowboys game is going to be so great that NBC elevated it to the Sunday night game during last night's Sunday night game broadcast.

It isn't about any of that, because whenever I write on this blog about sports, my team loses.

So this post isn't about all the above.

But Sunday should be fun.

Boston's Best

The last time that I wrote about sports, all my favorite teams lost except Kansas City.  I had named them all, and they all promptly lost. 

So when I realized that I was excited about the World Series, and that I wanted Boston to win, I decided it would be better for all Boston fans if I didn't write about my thoughts or feelings on the topic.

But I thought it couldn't hurt to write an email about how I felt.  So I did.

Boston lost the next two games.

So I took to monkish silence and sat atop my couch with nary a (public) sound.

If a Boston Red Sox fan cheers alone, does anyone hear?  Hopefully not, given my track record.

I don't think the championship can be taken away ex post facto though.  So I'm writing now.

They were great - simply great.  They were the kind of team that makes it fun to be a baseball fan.  They had so many stories going - worst-to-best, the beards, Papi, a closer that never tired... I loved it all.  But I think I loved the beards the most.

I started watching during the initial post-season games.  I noticed the beard on the pitcher first. He looked Amish to me.  Then they showed the catcher - David Ross was in at that point, as I recall.  I thought, is he Amish too?  Then I figured it out and so posted on Facebook, "Are all the Red Sox Amish?"  My true baseball fan friends gave me a thumbs up on the question.

What is most intriguing about the beards is the willingness of the players, as a team, to shout out their penchant to have superstitions, while simultaneously speaking of an undeniable team spirit - where the whole is greater than any one of its parts.  Nobody needs to say a word.  The beards do all the talking - and reminding, if a player here or there (a newbie rookie or a hardened veteran) forgets the intention. 

The second greatest part of this World Series for me was Papi.  He had a World Series batting average of - what was it? .780 or something? - and it was just exciting to see him come to the plate.  I was speaking with a new lawyer friend, and she said it was the look on his face, pure determination, that was compelling.  We all should carry such grit and belief.  Apparently after the second loss - so the record was Boston 1, St. Louis 2 - the big man sat down with his team and told them to play ball. Just play.  Get out of your head and play the game.  It worked.

People complained that the games were sloppy and the best players on the field were the men in blue (you know, the umpires).  And there were some exciting, controversial calls - none of which seemed to be controversial due to their substance, just their uniqueness.  It was good to see the blue guys do well in amidst any controversy.

But still, for me? There was a fluidity and camaraderie to the Red Sox play, regardless of errors or glitches. 

And with all that Boston has seen this year... celebrating a World Series win is only right and fair.

I was exhausted on the night of Game 6 - the last game, as it turned out.  I had been working that day since 3 a.m., on a legal brief.  I didn't know if I would make it through the entire game, being played in Boston.  I watched long enough to see the Sox take a 6-0 lead then fell asleep, unable to stay awake any longer.  I didn't see the final out or the final score of 6-1 until the next morning.  But I fell asleep content, knowing what had mattered to me was not the final toss of the final game to show the ultimate win, but the way the game had been played all Series long.

There is a new old Irish saying: May the angels smile upon you, may the wind always be at your back, and may your face show determination, grit and belief like David Ortiz's face did during the 2013 World Series.

Football Update

I watched the Seahawks win on Thursday Night Football last night and realized that I seem to be cheering on a number of teams this football season.

The Eagles are "my team," I know.  But with all the shaking up there in the off season, and with new reasons to root for old favorites, I seem to have broadened my fan club umbrella.

I miss Andy Reid - just because, and even though I knew he had to leave the Eagles - and so I'm really enjoying his great success in Kansas City.

I've always liked Peyton Manning - who doesn't - and shook my head in disbelief when Indianapolis got rid of him, so I am excited by the Broncos' amazing success this season and am looking forward to Sunday night's game (when the Broncos play the Colts in Indianapolis and Peyton Manning plays for the first time there as a non-Colts player).

The Seahawks have been an on-the-edge favorite team for awhile, since I lived in Washington State.  My team of origin - since I was born in Wisconsin - is Green Bay.  I've been rousting up enthusiasm for the Bears as that is the home town team of my nephews, ages 3 and nearly 6, and they are also doing well.

So it seems that the Eagles are no longer alone as my favorite team.

Can one have multiple favorite teams? Is that even allowed?

Don't get me wrong.  I still take great joy in the loss of any NFC East rival, and check the scores in hopes of seeing their demise of the day.  And I do want the Eagles to do well, even in the face of a building season.

And I was more than excited to meet the mother of a Philadelphia Eagles lineman on a plane trip recently.  Seriously, that made my entire week.

But I have to admit, I am no longer limited to the Eagles.

I wonder if this is an off shoot of free agency - now a pretty old setup.  I have often said that free agency has hurt football in a way that it does not harm baseball.  In football - but not so much in baseball - the players must instinctively know each other in order to play at the highest level.  The lineman needs to know that the nearly-imperceptible flinch from the guy next to him means that his teammate is getting ready to change course to the left (or the right), and that kind of knowledge comes from playing together long enough that instinct can take over and rule the day.  Free agency means that they likely will not be playing together that long or, if they do, they will not remain so.

I have decided not to resent free agency, as I do think that it is an important element of the game of football, where players need to make the money that they can, as early on as possible, in an effort to outrun that always-potentially-present season-ending injury that stands in their way, just around the corner.

But I do think free agency has changed the game and created a parity that has at times flattened the game of football - and not for the better.

Now I wonder if it also affects team loyalties.  Certainly I seem more likely now - this season, at least - to follow the individual rather than the team - the Chiefs and the Broncos being two prime examples.  Has the bulk of my loyalty switched to the individual rather than the team?  Or is this just a unique season in my football experience?

And then I think - and here is a thought - maybe this focus on the individual rather than the team actually makes football better?

Certainly I am enjoying football more this season than I have in a number of seasons.  I'm excited about many games, not just the one.  I think that's a good thing.  I know it's been fun.

Not As Good After

Eagles.  Oh well.  Actually, I still have hope.  And it was nice to have at least one fun game this season.

One Great Game

Last night was a great night to be an Eagles fan.

It was Monday Night Football.  Every one (except one) of the pundits on the pregame show picked the Redskins to win the game.

I wasn't even sure that I was sticking with the Eagles this season.  Yes, I've been a fan since 1987.  It was a Monday night game that converted me.  That, and the defense - the Reggie White era.

But there have been many, many changes.

Who could have known that it would be Michael Vick who helped me to decide to hang in there at least one more year.  Riley Cooper fights teammate; Michael Vick helps break it up  Also, I like the owner.  And I like the heart - this team has always had heart.  Last season, it was not like that.  But it is the heritage.
 
By last night's game, I knew which team I wanted to win.

What a good decision.

The offense was exciting last night.  They were fast, yes.  But announcer Jon Gruden helped explain why the substance of what they were doing was even more exciting and unpredictable than the speed with which they did it.  Though the speed was pretty cool too.  Gruden drew on screen the number of options being thrown at the Redskins' defense that created confusion as to what play was on its way.  It was really interesting to listen to him.  (Gruden was the Eagles' offensive coordinator for a time.  He was fantastic.  I hated to see him go, even though it was the best thing for him.)

And then there was the defense.  For me, and with the Eagles, it is always about the defense.

At some points, I got worried for RG3 (as he is called) - the Redskins quarterback.

And then there came the second half.

Intellectually, I understand that I am not responsible for the near-loss there at the end.  However, I did do that one thing that I never do - that I believe will cause my team to lose, if I do it.  So I apologize to all Eagles fans, that I did it last night.

I gloated.

I'm sorry!  I did it only on Facebook, and only because the Redskins stole - stole! - that first score - a 14-point shift, as the Eagles would have scored a touchdown otherwise.  (That was not a lateral pass.)  All I said was "instant karma" - that's all I said.  (Oh, and I kept reporting the first-half offensive yards in the comments section of my "karma" post.)  But as soon as I had done it, I thought, "I'm going to cause the Eagles to lose this game."  And they did nearly lose. Yes, I know - I know.  It is not possible that my gloating in any way impacts the outcome on the field.  Nonetheless, and just in case, I promise to never do that again.

The season has been exciting all around, so far.  Peyton Manning - wow.  And on and on.  I also had the chance to get my nephews fired up on Sunday about watching their home team (Da Bears).  The three-year-old was somewhat distracted, but the five-year-old was focused.  And both of them were excited to watch the kickoff.  So that was exciting too, for me.

All in all, it was a great game last night and it has been a fun season so far.  I wonder what this week brings.

Soccer Joy

Twice this week, I have picked up my 5-year-old nephew from soccer camp.  The first time, it was his second day of camp and he was flushed with excitement.  We talked moves and such.  Unlike Minecraft, soccer is something that I know how to do. 

Today was the last day - a short camp.  I came to retrieve him just as the coaches sent the kids out on one last endeavor: the water fight.  On the whistle's blow, the kids ran around the field with water bottles and water guns and plastic orange cones filled with water, spraying and splashing each other.  They cooled down quickly in the warmish sun, staying in the moment of the fun.  Some coaches got Gatoraded (you know, doused with a barrel-full of water).  That made me laugh out loud.

For all of everything that swirls around right now, there was comfort in pausing for a minute to enjoy their enjoyment.

Basketball Now

Okay, so I was disappointed about last week. All went very quiet around here last weekend when teams lost.

But basketball looks interesting today (now that I'm out of my black attire).

I may just watch it.

Anticipation

With all that is going on, and all I have to do.... I keep thinking about basketball instead.

Enough!  Egads.  Don't I have better things to do?

(basketball....)

It does not help that Gonzaga's women play on Saturday right here in Spokane.  I've been to some tournament games here, when the women play.  Very exciting!

But today is about Salt Lake City.... and 1 p.m.

Enough, I said!

And now back to my regularly scheduled program, entitled "Thursday's Workday."