Sports Fans..why are we like this?

Hello. My name is Matt and I’m a sports fan. A Philadelphia sports fan to be more specific.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost Super Bowl 57 last night. They were arguably the best team in the NFL all season but fell victim to the greatness of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that was one for the ages. I find myself today..the day after.. sitting here going through a roller coaster of emotion. Recalling every play from the game and getting more angry, sad, and upset because the Eagles could have had a chance to win the game and most likely would have if not for a controversial holding penalty on James Bradberry with just under 2 mins left in the 4th quarter.

Why am I like this? Why am I sad? Why am I angry? Why do I hate the city of Kansas City? I’ve never been I’m sure its lovely. Why do I want to spit in every BBQ sandwich I see? Why do I all of a sudden think the color red is so hideous? Like a bull attacking a matador I want charge every person wearing red. Why in some weird way do I want to watch highlights as if the outcome will somehow be different if I watch again. It would be like pouring salt in an open wound. The sun came out today and I woke up healthy. Those are two great things. Life and sunshine. But yet here we are.

Why do I put my entire identity into liking a football team for 18 weeks out of the year? I try not to. I have other interests and hobbies. I love sports and want my family, friends and city to be happy, but on days like today I want every person I see and talk to I want them to feel sorry for me and give me a hug. Like as if I just lost a loved one. Why? I own a home with a beautiful wife, a dog and I have a job. Why is that not enough? It should be.. i’m employed and not homeless.

Is it bad that I wanted to get drunk early in the morning and watch a parade? It’s not healthy mentally and physically but boy did I want it. I wanted to destroy things with the citizens of Philadelphia. Why? I crumble mentally at any minor inconvenience in my life why would I want to cause destruction for someone else to clean up and fix. I’m not a bad person. I try to live my life in a very positive way.

Do people know the commitment we as fans put in every week to ensure we are able to watch the teams we love? Scheduling our lives, shifting things around in our calendars to make sure we can make sure we can sit on our couch scroll meaningless tweets, connect with other idiots like ourselves, eat junk food, and drink beer. That is childish and we should grow up. But we can’t. This bullshit is hard wired in our brains. It’s an addiction and we can’t break the habit. Like a junkie looking for a fix we think our lives are going to be better or worse if our team wins or loses. Maybe our lives will be temporarily but in the long run they’re not. We will be happy or sad but we will move on. I hope so.

The Eagles put together one of the best seasons of football I think I ever watched from this franchise in my 31 years of living. Knowing that we have a quarterback that will be the face of the franchise for the next 10 plus years is something we as birds fans can hang our hats on and look forward to. What Lane Johnson did this post season was nothing short of herculean. AJ Brown is an alien. This may be the last run for Jason Kelce who is a hall of fame center and gave everything to this franchise. For those things I am truly grateful and excited. I may never change but I’m proud to be a birds fan and proud of my city.

Now if you excuse me I’m going to watch the Sixers break my heart.

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