I’ve been a die-hard Birds fan my whole life, and one of the things I’ve always found to be special about our fandom is the passion that comes out every week – everyone rooting hard for a Win, regardless of record. I almost see it as our duty. Times were really tough before the Reid-era, but you could always count on the fans to be there for the team.
Picking top-5 in the draft is NOT an honor…and is not something to strive for. Just ask the fans of any of the teams that are always picking high – they’re miserable. Ask them if they’d rather be a long-shot in the PlayOffs or picking higher in the next draft. Losing is a disease, and it really messes with the culture & player motivation. This is not a disease that I want the Birds, or our fandom, to catch.
Plus, picking high in the draft rarely results in a positive turnaround the following season. However, a winning culture typically yields improvement. I really don’t want to be one of the dreadful fan-bases whose highlights of the season is from 3 days every April. I’d much rather have more opportunity to root for my favorite sports team in the PlayOffs.
I always look forward to Eagles games, even when they’re performing poorly. And I’ll always root for a Win. This is the mindset I wish for the players, too. How can I expect them to have this mindset if I don’t have the same? It really sucks watching a Birds game where the players aren’t putting in 110% on every play. The way I see it, criticizing players that aren’t putting in maximum effort is perfectly fine, as long as it comes from a place in the heart that truly wants to win. Criticism loses all value when deep down you’re hoping for a Loss every week.
We’ve seen bad sports teams turn things around mid-season & make a push for the PlayOffs before, with some (very few) even making it to a Championship. This is what we should always be hoping for, in my opinion. These are the types of unique seasons that fans never forget. It’s one of the things that makes sports so special.
Keeping hope alive should be especially true for this season. We don’t have a clear front-runner, like other divisions, so there’s definitely a path to the PlayOffs in play. Why not root for another ‘Cinderella story’? Why not root for a chance to play another game?
Just imagine what it would be like if the Birds somehow turned everything around & went on a winning streak, with the players we have out there now. Anything is possible in the NFL. Just look back to 2017/18, where the loss of several key guys could’ve easily derailed that PlayOff run; but it didn’t – the fans stuck behind the team, and they rewarded us with our 1st SuperBowl victory. Overcoming all the hardship is what made that season so much more special.
I truly believe that the fans of a team can impact the outcome of games. We all know how the cheer volume can make it hard for the opposing team to communicate w/eachother; plus, when the crowd is cheering the Birds on, I think it can result in getting just a little more effort from at least a few of our players. In a ‘game of inches’, this can be the difference between a W or an L.
I’m reminded of the phenomenon of ‘fire-walking’. This is the practice of walking across red-hot coals. Though physicists have tried to explain how people are able to do it w/o suffering major burns, they can’t explain everything. When someone tries to do it w/o a crowd watching, they end up getting burned. However, when they have a lot of support in attendance, they regularly have success. Maybe this general idea can apply to fandom.
So please join me in rooting for a W each week. Maybe they’ll reward us w/some competitive games for some good entertainment, at the very least. Sorry if I lost anybody w/the ‘fire-walking’ comment 🙂
Go Birds!
