Tom Brady is 43 years old and he’s separated from Bill Belichick, so it’s easier for cheer for him these days. It’s not like he’s representing the evil empire known as the New England Patriots.

That’s how I see it. Every cumulative Tom Brady achievement gives hope to us 35-and-over schlubs who used to be pretty good at sports but now we’re old and slow, with wives and kids and mortgages and other more important things to worry about. When Brady goes out and plays well, it’s hope for us washed dads, who become inspired watching somebody older than us go out and tear it up.

So it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to see Brady win another Super Bowl, but we’re pulling for Big Red on Sunday evening. Andy Reid, the former Birds coach who won his ring last year and brought the circle of life to completion. The Eagles got their ring, Andy got his ring, and now we can all die happy.

That’s how the story was supposed to end, but now we’ve got Andy playing in his third Super Bowl, and what happens if he wins again? He’ll now have two rings (as a head coach) and we’ll only have one, and that seems to bother a portion of Eagles fans for some reason. They were cool with Andy winning one, but winning two is somehow wrong. Why? Because they’re still annoyed that he couldn’t get over the hump here? Because they watched his 14 years of Eagles football and remain bothered that he couldn’t finish the job? It’s like they made this investment and it didn’t pay off, but we were all in the same boat and watched the same shitty losses, so the problem is theirs. Andy haters can’t seem to move on.

If anything, we should be pulling for Big Red to avenge the 2005 Super Bowl loss and triumph over Brady, now 16 seasons later. That’s the storyline here.

To me, all of the corny ill-will should have gone out the door when the Birds won it all at Super Bowl 52. All of the hate and vindictiveness was supposed to leave your body for good, like a juice cleanse, because we finally got what we wanted. That elusive Lombardi Trophy was ours, and bygones would be bygones. Nobody would be mad at Andy Reid because he’s not here anymore, number one, and we had a fantastic success story of our own, number two.

Plus, Andy had a hand in our Super Bowl win, whether we like it or not. Doug Pederson came from his coaching tree. Big Red talked Nick Foles out of retirement and convinced him to continue as an NFL backup. Without either of those guys, we don’t have a ring, and that’s why we should be eternally grateful to Andy, who continued to provide for Philadelphia even after he left.

I wrote this last year and I think bears repeating, because this is a good way to sum up Philadelphia feelings towards Andy:

If you’re actively rooting for him to fail because of things that happened 15 years ago, even AFTER the Birds won a ring, then you’re probably being a hater.

Think about it; if we ourselves have found success, then shouldn’t we be happy for another person’s success?  Otherwise it comes off as petty beef, a fake conflict that isn’t really there, or no longer needs to be. It’s like breaking up with a girlfriend and then hoping she fails in every future relationship, instead of hoping that she finds “the one.”

Otherwise, what reason would be pulling for the Buccaneers? Do Temple folks want to see Bruce Arians win a ring as a head coach? That’s possible, though he coached here a long time ago. We’re talking mid-1980s.

Do Penn State folks want to see Chris Godwin win a ring? Maybe. He’s a Delaware guy, so he’s kind of local. Donovan Smith is a Nittany Lion and Penn Quaker Justin Watson is on the Bucs’ roster, so that would be a cool story. Otherwise, it’s not like there are myriad Philadelphia-to-Tampa connections jumping off the page.

Here’s the thing –

Andy Reid has not coached in this city in nine seasons, so if we can’t let it go by now, even after winning a ring, then what does that say about us? If we’re complaining in 2021 about NFC Championship game losses that took place 13, 18, 19, and 20 years ago, then what’s our problem? We’re holding a fifteen-year grudge? For who? For what!

I never got it, the Big Red hate. This year it’s come down to picking Andy Reid or Tom Brady, and even though Tom is no longer affiliated with the disgusting cheaters up north, every Eagles fan with an ounce of dignity and self-respect should choose Andy.

 

Edit: A good point that a couple of readers made was this – if Brady wins, that would be disappointing for the Patriots organization, so we can get down with that.