Jason Nark at Philly.com wrote a story called “The Eagles’ Super Bowl win makes me miss the losing.” I think he went on Mike Missanelli’s show in the afternoon, but if he did, I missed it.
The theme of Nark’s piece is that he’s basically lost the fire, lost the passion for the Eagles he grew up loving. The Super Bowl win means that he’s essentially reached the pinnacle of Birds’ fandom. It will never be the same.
Writes Nark:
When the clock ticked down to zero on Feb. 4, I hugged my dad, my son and the stranger who ran into my house waving an Eagles flag. And then some part of me realized that no future Super Bowl victory would ever feel so good.
I had reached nirvana, inner Eagles peace, and the hunger was gone, almost instantly.
Am I really the only one who feels this way?
Hmm.. well, probably not. And I don’t disagree. Obviously nothing’s gonna be the same as winning the first one. I think you can say that about most things in life. First apartment, first concert, first Southern Tier Warlock, first car, unless it was a 1994 Nissan Altima with 205,000 miles on it.
I can understand his feelings.
Nark also explains that he doesn’t want the Eagles to become a bandwagon team:
I cringe when I think of the Eagles becoming a dynasty. Dynasties often change the chemistry of a fan base. They become entitled whiners, righteous and expectant. They become lean Rocky in a Lambo and Paulie gets a robot.
I don’t want anyone to like us. I don’t care.
Dynasties spread like disease until some fraud you went to high school with starts popping out Cowboys fans, and they’re running around your backyard in Dak Prescott jerseys during a barbecue, eating your steak. Fledgling Eagles fans in Fresno or Oklahoma City may mean well, but they don’t have the scars.
Let’s slow it down here. There’s a long way to go before it would get to this point.
Plus, Philly is a parochial place. Even if the Birds won three more Super Bowls in the next five years, I don’t know if the kid in Fresno is buying an Eagles flat-brim hat with the sticker still on it. We’re not really trendy or fashionable. And I think most locals would probably tell the bandwagon jumpers to fuck right off because they aren’t from here, they didn’t suffer through the losing years, and they have no cultural or geographic connection to the team.
Plus, we still have the reputation of being a bunch of boorish loser fans, (RE: Vikings game), so even if the Eagles keep winning, I think a large majority of people are going to see roll with that stereotype and stay away from Philly as a trendy front-runner pick.
Nark:
My sons are dying to go see a game, so maybe I’ll sell an organ on the black market or try to pass off a preseason game as legit football this month. I feel for them: They’ll never know the bittersweet purity of attending a game no one wanted to see, when some dude called your dad with free tickets to the Vet, back when we were hungry and games were blacked out.
Maybe I should be more of a Flyers fan.
Flyers fans are going to hate that line.
But yeah, I get it; it’ll never be the same. The second Super Bowl, if it ever comes, simply can’t trump the first one.
Still, God forbid any Eagle fan actually enjoy watching an elite team with an affable head coach, players that appreciate the fans and work their asses off, and a forward-thinking owner who makes Jerry Jones and other dinosaurs look like total schifosos.
That’s how I’d choose to look at it.
20 Comments
Listening to mike miss makes me miserable
I have yet to meet an Eagles bandwagon and you’re right in that it’s really unlikely to ever happen. We have the undeserved reputation as being horrible people that everybody hates and I’m starting to enjoy that aspect of the Eagles fandom now that we won. I used to resent it when outsiders would tell me how horrible Eagles fan’s are and now I’m actually starting to enjoy it. I’m not going to go mace a little old lady wearing a Cowboys jersey but if she thinks I might, then that’s on her. They don’t like us, we don’t care. P.S fuck the Vikings fan’s forever, they lost their right to be respected.
all the fraud cowgirl/stiller/49er “fans” will be wearing Eagles gear this season.
I don’t think you’re likely to see a noticeable bandwagon for the Eagles. For one, everyone in this region already bled green anyhow. Hence, just about everyone in this region was a fan before this past February. As for outside this region, our fan base is so heavily disliked that we’re unlikely to see outside bandwagon fans too. Thus, we never had bandwagon fans and we don’t need them either.
Eagle’s fans using the words ‘hence’ and ‘thus’…. the bandwagon has already started its engine..
lol an Eagles fan using the Millwall Lions “no one likes us, we don’t care saying” Never thought I’d see the day where Eagles fans would lower themselves to using a soccer chant. Oh thats right, that tiny overrated midget Kelsey used it in his horrible speech and got you all gassed up. Almost as much as when Closeted Chip Kelly said “we’re Philly, we fight” hahahaha sheep
true winners hate losing., more than they love winning.
true losers love winning, but they dont mind losing.
That is Jason Nark.
^ This was actually a well thought out statement. What’s it doing in the comment section here, it clearly doesn’t belong.
Wait until he sees those prices of Flyers tickets despite not winning for 40 some years. Guys just sounds like a glutton for punishment.
I’m embarrassed for this guy. Relax man. It’s just a game. Getting all sentimental about a sport just creeps me out. Enjoy the winning. And if they lose, you know, it’s fine too. That guy needs some serious help.
Flyers 1974-5 was different than the first but great, because it was a repeat. Buffalo. Fog. Bats. Clement/Kelly.
Screw that. I get what he’s saying, but that’s just noise coming out of his mouth. Try moving around the country being an eagles fan. You get “the look.” Like you’re stained, and it won’t wash out.
I for one am going to savor these next few years of being a long suffering then jubilant blissful eagles fan, because all too soon it will revert back to sports destitution. Enjoy it guys, we’re still reaching up. Revel in the fact that “they hate us cause they ain’t us” = “we all we got, we all we need!” And that our locker room and ethos is trying to be emulated.
Philly fans are the best “,so were they at their best when they were throwing snowballs at Santa???
Funny how the eagles all of a sudden have all these fans
#bandwagonfans
#trywinningforachange
Southern tier ? Lol. Rube.
Try anything from Tree House Brew or Funk Brew.
Fuck outa here Kev
That shit is like $100 per case. Kevin can’t go that.
good job replying to yourself
Eagles fans aren’t beer snobs… where the fuck did you come from?
I never heard of Jason Nark.
I looked him up on Twitter.
His most recent tweet is retweeting something Shaun King tweeted.
That’s all I need to know about Jason Nark.
This guy is getting a lot of play for a take that is total garbage
I live in NYC – this time last year seeing someone in a Birds shirt meant you could no doubt scream “GO BIRDS” to eachother and any other celebratory gesture that came with it. I scream Go Birds to people now with Eagles shirts on and they walk right past me.
Not the worst problem to have, but the times are changing.