“Brady, lines them up. He’s back again. He steps up. He’s hit. He’s stumbles. He’s throwing it. Deep for the end zone and it is… batted around… and…. incomplete. AND THE GAME IS OVER. THE GAME IS OVER. THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ARE SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS. EAGLES FANS EVERYWHERE, THIS IS FOR YOU! LET THE CLELEBRATION BEGIN!!!!… The Eagles have won the Super Bowl 41-33”
- Merrill Reese
The most heart pounding, stressful, and emotional 4 hours of my life. And the most terrifying snap I’d ever seen. As my family and I gathered around the bright, fluorescent screen, we watched as the greatest quarterback of all time fired the football in a Hail Mary attempt for the last play of the game. We watched as the brown speck moved across the wide screen, stretching its way down the entire field. The same object that would change history forever.
Isn’t it crazy, that something as small and seemingly insignificant as a 28-inch-long brown ball with its raised white stripes can make or break everything? Okay… well maybe not “everything” but for a Philadelphia Eagles fan, it sure feels like “everything.”
It is said that humanity’s attraction to sports stems from our ancestors battling against other tribes or communities to reign as superior. This same sense of loyalty and deep-rooted pride is what is supposed to make us feel this same loyalty and pride as we do to our respective teams.
I can’t say whether or not this is the true origin, but I can 100% stand behind the traits that come out of this belief. Being a sports fan has given me so much. I always feel great pride in wearing my jerseys, going to the games, and screaming like a lunatic (because I believe it will help my team win). Being a sports fan has given me a great sense of community. Take Penn State for example. I can remember walking down the boardwalk a few summers ago when all the sudden a “We Are!” Chant came from a man a few feet away from me. “Penn State!”, replied a man wearing an old Penn State t-shirt and matching sun stained hat. The men approached each other with smiles from ear to ear. They had no idea who each other was, but began asking each other about their experiences at PSU, when the gradated, what they studied, and reminisced about the years they had spent there.
It is this same pride and passion that is coursing through the DNA of every Philadelphia Eagles fan. This passion came to a new height after the Eagles had won Super Bowl LII. The celebration lasted weeks and almost 1 million people (and arguably more) gathered (congregated, crowded themselves?) on the streets of Broad Street to watch as their heroes took a victory lap around to showcase their feat in the body of the beautiful Lombardi Trophy.
Being a sports fan has not only brought me closer to my community, but to my family. It is a tradition for my dad to take me to the Eagles game the Sunday before Christmas each year. We watch every game together, and since I’ve been up at school, we FaceTime during and after each game.
I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have had a special relationship with my dad had I not liked sports, and I’m not saying that you can’t foster a sense of community unless you share the same passions as your fellow peers, but I amsaying that having something special, something to stand behind, that connects people, really brings about a unique bond that is hard to recreate on its own.
I believe that that night changed history in this town and created a night I will always remember. I will always remember cheering and screaming and jumping so high and loud I felt I would break right through the floor. I will always remember screaming off the back of my deck with my dad as we chanted “E-A-G-L-E-S” to our neighbors. I will always remember the cold touch of the crisp February night air against my bare arms exposed from my Carson Wentz Jersey; and the wind blowing my hair off my sweaty neck from the stress and anticipation of the game. I will always remember watching the explosions of bring green and white fireworks blazing from all around us. I will always remember going to that parade and watching as the city celebrated its 52-year Super Bowl drought, which had been cured by the sweat and hard work of our underdogs. I will always and forever remember that season and what it brought, besides a trophy.
I believe that sports bring community, and family closer together.
1.Identify the conflict of this piece. If you think the conflict needs work, offer suggestions.
The conflict is being on a team that always loses and the trials and tribulations of being a sports fan i think the conflict could connect a little more to you specially rather than being just the average eagles fan i think it could be better if you connected it to a meaning deeper than it is important to me because all eagles fans feel this way.
2. Comment on the arrangement of the piece. Could the piece be more sensory or engaging if told another way? Think about the beginning, middle, and ending. Comment on how they could be strengthened.
I really enjoy how the sensory details mix well with the narrative but i think if you told it more from personal aspect im sitl not really getting the euphemism or lesson i’m supposed to know by the end, so maybe make that more clear.
3. Name some possibilities for deeper characterization. How could the “I” be developed further? Is there more you would like to know about the relationships between “characters”? Were some details “author oriented” instead of “audience oriented”?
I think this part is the one that I am most confused about I didn’t really pick up a you aspect that is unique to you. I took away how much you love the eagles but not really differentiating between how much regular die hard eagles fans are.
4. Did the belief match up with the story? Offer some advice if you felt the piece moved toward a different conclusion.
I do think that the belief matches up with the story but maybe it would be a better preface the it in the beginning and go into deeper analysis later.
5. Suggest ways that the piece could engage the senses more.
I think you engage the figurative language aspect really well but maybe engage more smell and hearing into the piece.
6. Make a suggestion or two for something the author could move, change, add, or delete
Again I really think you have a strong base but it just sounds too generic for anything that can be used in deeper analysis. Instead of the prototypical die hard sports fan/ eagles fan