Streaming and Dreaming: What Eagles Parade Day Means to Me

So what does this Eagles Super Bowl victory mean to me? From the title of this article, one may think not much because I couldn’t make it to the parade; however, that is far from the truth. With work and family responsibilities, I couldn’t hack it. While I am not there in person, I am there in spirit. As I sit here multi-tasking (working and streaming the parade), I cannot help but to think of so many story lines that make this victory so personal and special. Bear with me here….

My family’s heritage is all Philadelphia. Both of my parents are from the city, my grandparents were enormous Eagles fans, and my father worked at Eagles games as a kid (the Franklin Field days) selling programs. That love of green was epitomized every Sunday for as long as I can remember, watching games with my family, calling my grandparents to talk about the game, analyzing the plays and games to come, and dreaming of that ever-elusive world championship. As birds’ fans, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs, only to result in never ending hope at the start of each season. Hope would last for my entire childhood and into my adult years. While the landscape of my life has changed (all good stuff), one constant has remained: love of all Philadelphia sports!

As my wife and I watched games with our young girls the past few years, what started as a general confusion about the game on our kids part, has evolved into understanding, excitement, and enthusiasm. Watching the games the past few weeks with my kids has been an experience I’ll never forget, and a foundation for years to come. Reminiscent of me as a little kid, my daughters have been glued to the television to watch the games, and were absolutely elated at finding out the Eagles won (they fell asleep before the game was over).

So, when I think about what this win means to me personally, it means way more than the Lombardi Trophy could ever mean. It means the journey of adversity, it means loyalty in the face of difficulty, it means beating the odds, but most of all, it means Family!

One love, and thanks for listening, Newtown!!