January 15, 2009

Battle of The Birds

As Erin pointed out in her comment, yes, Go Eagles too!

Being born and raised (primarily) outside Philadelphia, I grew up an Eagles fan. I have the Ron Jaworski, Harold Carmichael and Wilbur Montgomery autographs to prove it. I cheered Dick Vermeil and booed Buddy Ryan (but I love his son!). I proudly wore green and silver, loudly defended the "spirited" Philly fans, but wouldn't have thrown snowballs at Santa. Bob and I spent our first date in a Norfolk bar watching the Eagles beat the Redskins (yes, Bob grew up a 'Skins fan; I was able to overlook this fact and marry him anyway).

But then we moved to Baltimore and a funny thing happened. I slowly began to follow a Ravens team with uniforms the color of bruises and a defense to match - and oh, how I love a great defense. I learned the names and stories of the players ... Lewis, Reed, Heap ... and chanted "move those chains" along with the crowd at M&T Bank stadium.

There was something special about this town and its relationship with its football team; perhaps you appreciate something all the more when it's been stolen from you previously (people 'round here still remember the night the Colts left town under cover of darkness). And when a scrappy wild card team crushed the Giants to win Super Bowl XXXV (something my Eagles have never accomplished), Bob and I were officially hooked.

So now I wear my over sized #52 jersey every Sunday, jump at any chance to attend a game, try to visit training camp - held across the street from us at McDaniel College, and love my Ravens.

And what will I do if the Eagles meet the Ravens in Tampa this year? Surprisingly, it's not really a hard choice for me. I'll root for the birds ... the ones that Poe favored. And if the other team happens to win? Well, then I'll be happy about that too (and perhaps someone still living in PA will send Owen an Eagles t-shirt)!

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