Philadelphia Eagles - Does Philly Deserve Two Championships in One Year?

If the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year - and the odds are approximately 1 in 4 right now - then Philadelphia will have celebrated two major professional sports championships within the past 4 months.

The city's collective head will explode if this happens.

Philly sports fans are used to the losing seasons, the endless disappointment, and the deep seasonal depression. We accept it. We expect it. And in some strange way, we take pride in it.

But now, for the first time in recent memory, Philadelphia is on the brink of true sporting excellence. Super Bowl and World Series champions in the same season? It's almost unheard of.

Unless you live in Boston or New York.

Sure, the Eagles have been generally quite good for the past 10 years. Bengals fans must be cursing me for even a hint of complaining. But we can't help but anticipate some sort of last-second calamity - snatching and securing our defeat from the jaws of victory. Will it be a McNabb interception? A blocked punt in the endzone? Coach Andy Reid choking on a cheesesteak? All of the above?

I think the Eagles have an excellent chance to beat the Arizona Cardinals next weekend, and earn a trip to Tampa. But in a way, I fear that potential victory. I know my hopes will be raised to a height from which they can be easily smashed - like a seagull drops a clam on the rocks below, breaking the shell to get at the soft innards. I saw that on the Discovery Channel. And trust me, the analogy is perfectly apt - due to my delicate, tender psyche, and hard, calcified sports fan exterior.

Anyway, I'm prepared for the disappointment if they lose. And I'll do whatever I can to help produce a victory, in order to avoid that disappointment.

By the way, you really don't want to know what rituals we performed today in order to help the team win. It mainly involved distracting Eli Manning while the Giants were on offense, and eating/drinking certain things at certain times when the Eagles had the ball. I think I'll leave it at that.

In any case, whatever we did, it worked.

At this time next week, we'll know if the Eagles will continue their quest for the best, or if I'll be curled up in the shower crying. Again.

And even if they do win, I'm sure Philadelphia fans will find something else to be disappointed about - even before the Gatorade has dried on Andy Reid's soft, shapeless back.

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