Love Your Favorite Team, No Matter What

That Sunday, not one person in this country gave the Birds a shot to beat the New England Patriots. Tom Brady had more weapons last year then Bruce Willis in any one of his "Die Hard" movies. I even thought it would be a long shot to stop the New England Patriots at the time. However, that didn't make me think we didn't have a chance of winning.

When I went home for Thanksgiving break, the headline in Friday's "Daily News" was a picture of Underdog in an Eagles jersey. With Donovan McNabb starting, the Patriots were favored to win by more then 3 touchdowns. When Andy Reid announced McNabb would rest and A.J. Feeley would start, Las Vegas removed the game from the betting line because the spread was too high.

To be honest, my expectations were not high for the Eagles to win. It was the New England Patriots for crying out loud. But there was still that part of me that believed we could win.

Any given Sunday any team can shock the world.

This is what bothered me when I went home for break. When talking to other fellow Eagles fans back home, I felt as nobody had the slightest bit of hope. They didn't even believe the Eagles had a chance of pulling of a miracle.

People told me I was nuts for saying the Eagles upsetting the Patriots could happen. Mike Ditka laughed on Sportscenter when he was asked about the Eagle's chances. Nobody gave A.J. Feeley a chance.

Then look what happened.

The Eagles played some of the best football they played all season against the Patriots. Even though we lost by three, I was still alright with how the game turned out. Don't get me wrong, I would have LOVED it if the Eagles pulled off the biggest upset in NFL history. The state of Ohio would have hated me if it happened because I probably wouldn't shut up about it for weeks.

Throughout the game, all of the people who said the Eagles had no chance were starting to believe. A.J. Feeley played the game of his life that night. I always knew A.J. was a solid quarterback. The man led the Eagles to a 5-1 record back in 2003 when McNabb went down and threw for 300+ yards and three scores to the backups in last years season finale against the first string Falcons defense.

If A.J. hadn't thrown two silly interceptions to Asante Samuel, the Eagles would have won the game—there is no doubt in my mind.

I guess what I'm trying to prove here is never give up on your team, no matter how bad the situation might be. Even though it was a long shot, there was still that part of me that believed the Eagles could have won. And what do you know, they almost shocked the world.

As bad as it sounds, the loss could almost be seen in a positive way. The Eagles proved everybody wrong by hanging around with the Patriots. The commentators, the fans, and even friends, the Eagles proved them all wrong and almost pulled off an amazing upset.

No matter how bad the situation seems, sometimes all you have to do is believe.

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