-^-for posterity-^-

eagles football.

i have been indoctrinated since i was a child. my father was a football coach. i remember sitting in front of the television and asking him what color our team was. he said it was the white team. i remember asking again. he patiently said it was still the white team.

as i grew older, i learned more about football. i learned the positions and the strategy. i knew the eagles backwards and forwards. i watched the games every sunday and ran outside with my brother and played a game that involved punting, passing and tackling in the dry leaves. we always ended up getting in a fight and i was always bigger and could pummel jason. he always said something smart and i pummelled him again.

today i watched football on the internet. i sat in front of a screen and watched blips and refreshed pages because my internet connection is 1990 slow here. i watched the eagles drive and the packers fight back and the eagles drive again. i walked out on the balcony in the mid-day heat and waited for the page to refresh. i ambled around the room, more like paced, and hoped that my boys in green could pull it off.

the eagles scored a clutch touchdown in the fourth quarter. there was a minute left on the clock and they were punting the ball to the packers with a slim, three point lead. i watched my espn powered window flash and gather information from america. it sputtered and stopped. i refreshed the window and made another trip around the room. i sat down in the chair and watched the window refresh incredibly slowly. i looked like a moron staring at a blank screen. the screen refreshed and the packers were driving with seconds to go. as the plays unfolded, i was told through simple blurbs. 'favre pass to so and so good for seven yards.' they were in field goal range and my hopes were dashed. then, all of the sudden, as if an act of god, the screen blipped and it said, 'favre rushed for -7 yards.' i knew the game was over. the eagles had sacked the formidable quarterback of the packers and my team would gloriously win the day. ever since i was a child, i was taught devotion to the eagles and, in this small town of 200,000 vietnamese people, i was the only person to give a triumphant shout of zeal at 12:15 on a tuesday afternoon when the sun beat down and everyone was asleep. the dog jumped with a start and stared at me. he understood nothing about the eagles and i pitied him.