...but I don't throw bottles at opposing fans (perhaps batteries or snowballs, but not bottles). This afternoon I witnessed a rather ugly display of behavior when a disgruntled Giants fan threw a bottle of hot sauce from the second level of our local Eagles bar at the general crowd of Eagles fans below that shattered on our table, missed my wife by inches, and cut my thigh bad enough to make stopping the bleeding a formidable challenge (apparently beer
does thin the blood). A small group of Giants fans visited our local Eagles bar for today's Giants/Eagles game, making it a point to be rather vocal throughout the game, and up to a point there was a relatively civil level of competition, with opposing cheers being exchanged throughout the game. It was one hell of an exciting game, and the energy level and emotion in the bar was the highest of the season. It was an amazing and much-needed victory, and I should be on top of the world with the possibility of still being able to make the playoffs. But, after an Eagles interception for a touchdown near the end of the game to seal a Philadelphia victory, I turned around to see a Giants fan hurl a bottle of hot sauce from the upper balcony of the bar at the general Eagles crowd below (which would have probably hit me in the back of my head had I still been sitting).
There was a time when the PeteRock of old would have climbed up the balcony railing like Spiderman and wrapped his hands around the bastard's neck, and if my wife would have been injured in the incident, I very well may have (along with the entire Desert Eagles nest close behind), but instead we took a different approach. We instead allowed the owner of the bar to call the police and took pleasure in the fact that the man would be spending the night in jail. That is, if he managed to make it out of the bar alive. There was a sell-out crowd of angry, intoxicated Eagles fans through which he would have to pass in order to exit the bar, so he should hope that the police arrive before he has to leave. My wife and I filed a report with the president of our club and the owner of the bar, and left to avoid an inevitable nightmare.
With a puppy at home in need of dewatering, no need for additional drama in our lives, and the inevitability of a brawl following the game, we spoke with the owner of the bar, paid our tab, and headed home before the parking lot turned into Fight Club. A part of me would have liked to stay, but because my wife has managed to help me to mature over the years, she has helped me to see that the path we took was a far better one.
Right now I can only be thankful that no one was hurt in the incident,
especially my wife. The possibility that the love of my life, the strength that has molded me into the man that I am today, could have been severely injured by being hit with a glass bottle in the back of the head, is more than I can bear. But, fortunately I am left wondering about the "what-if's" and am not instead sitting in the Emergency room. I am happy to be home, am thankful for no one having been hurt, and am just glad that I am sitting with my beloved puppy at my feet and my wife by my side watching the KC/SD game. Regardless of your football allegiance, it should never come to this. Starshifter and I share a friendly rivalry, but I would have no problem buying him a beer if we were to meet in person to watch a Eagles/Giants game (and then shatter it on the back of his melon
). The Cowboys are one of the most hated teams in the entire city of Philadelphia, but Giants
fans may have them beat. Especially due to incidents like this.
If the Philadelphia Eagles manage to win one of our next two games, we will earn a Wild Card spot in this year's playoffs. And, that is with one of our top defenders
and our starting quarterback out with injuries. Not many teams could manage such a turnaround with
both their top defender
and their starting quarterback out for the season. And if we beat the Cowboys in Dallas on Christmas Day, we have a chance to win the NFC East. But, if we're unable to upset the Cowboys, we can still managed a playoff spot if we beat the Falcons in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve. Regardless of our playoff hopes (or lack thereof), this is an amazing finish to a season full of turmoil, and what an exciting season it has been. And being that I have tickets to the Eagles/Falcons game on New Year's Eve, I am looking forward to attending one of the most important games of the season (next to today's).
Go Birds!
