I grew up an Eagles fan, mainly because of Tommy McDonald, their electrifying, diminutive receiver. I was small for my age and am now the exact height McDonald was: 5’9’’. I also loved the green and white uniforms; the thing I coveted over every other, for one small stretch of my childhood, was a winged Eagles helmet. My father finally bought me one, if I recall correctly, at a Pep Boys store on Route 22. The first professional football game I saw live was an Eagles game at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, the stadium in which they won their last NFL championship. The Marlins have eclipsed the Phillies in my affections, but the Dolphins have not been able to supplant the Eagles. They are, more than the Phillies, the team that never quite makes it. Yet despite – or perhaps because of – this, its fans have a fierce, unbending, some might call it pathological loyalty to them. Even those who live a thousand miles away. I don't remember any spectators at Franklin Field flapping their arms above their heads, but when I saw them do it on Sunday, while joyously singing "Fly, Eagles, fly," it seemed like a venerable tradition.
For years, fans asked how Roger Federer could be the greatest of all time when he consistently lost to Rafael Nadal. Now Nadal will become the world’s Number 1 after falling repeatedly this year – Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open, Shanghai Masters – to Federer.
One of the many advantages of having lived abroad is that it gives you a country to root for when your own fails to qualify for the World Cup. Go Poland!
Some people will watch a baseball game with the sound off so they can listen to the play-by-play on radio. I wish there were some way you could watch the U.S. Open on ESPN and hear the commentators - especially Brett Haber and Paul Annacone - of the Tennis Channel.
I don’t have a lot of hope for Roger Federer at the U.S. Open, which begins today. His picture appeared last week on the cover of Sports Illustrated and yesterday on the cover of the New York Times Magazine. The SI cover jinx is the most famous in sports, but it should not be forgotten that the Times magazine, for its special Open issue three years ago, put a beautiful young Canadian on its cover with the words: “Eugenie Bouchard Could Be Tennis’s Next Big Shot.”