Super Bowl LII: A Sports Fan's Perspective

I've always liked the question: What gets you out of bed in the morning? Last Monday, the primary reason I got out of bed at 5:30 a.m. in time for my 6:00 a.m. Hour of Power class is because of Super Bowl LII. One might think the sheer athleticism of the contest would light a fire in my inner athlete and motivate me to hit the weight rack, pound the pavement and bench press, dip and curl. No...I went to my gym because I couldn't wait to talk about the game. A great upset, a valiant victory—yes the Eagles won their first Super Bowl—but football won, too. This sport that many people currently "love to hate" revealed to us, once again, why it captures our hearts, minds and our pocketbooks.  Here are but a few thoughts from the perspective of a sports fan.

A Case for Impartiality

For years, Pats fans have proclaimed loud and proud that you can't be impartial about their team: you love them or hate them. One Boston sportswriter went so far as to liken this sentiment to the words of Christ who said, "...for whoever is not against you is for you." Jesus' message was about a false prophet, one who claimed to exorcise demons (Luke 9:50). Needless to say, his words aren't about fan loyalty.

I've heard sports fans accuse the Yankees and Notre Dame of a similar fate. Personally, I find this assumption brazen and impudent. Perhaps I don't want my alma mater thrown in the mix, but when it comes to the New England Patriots, I don't stand in either camp. I can't cheer for them, but I certainly have respect for their legacy. I am fascinated by what Bill Belichick has done, but I'm not dreaming for a selfie with him or an interview for the purpose of this blog (though that would be great). I can't deny that Tom Brady may be the best athlete to hail from the Bay Area and I am intrigued by The TB12 Method, but I don't read or write about him (probably) often (enough).

I'm sure New England fans find themselves defending their greatness and the GOAT given some colored history and reasons to fuel the fire of non-impartiality, I'm just indifferent. Meh.

Given that Wentz played at North Dakota State U, I'm wondering how this is possible....

Forced Choice

All that being said, when the game clock starts, I have never been able to watch a championship game and NOT pick a team. Dodgers vs Astros, Sergio Garcia vs. Justin Rose, Dubs vs. Cavs (easy!) and as Super Bowl LII revealed: Eagles vs. Patriots. As written about in A Sports and Spirituality Icon: The Eagle, I had no dog in the fight. When forced to choose, I wanted the Eagles to win. I prefer the NFC over the AFC (Niners!) and who doesn't want to see an upset? I know and love a few Eagles fans, but not enough that I felt a need to go out of my way to cheer or promote the Birds.

However, seeing this team brought joy, happiness, and amazement. As a loyal Giants fan, I remember when my team finally got their first World Series crown. These championship series—as over the top and gratuitous as they are—don't exist for nothing. I rode an emotional high for days, weeks and honestly a full year at a time. The other rings have been super special, but to deny that the first one isn't the sweetest of victories is just not true. 

Through all of it, I realized that I saw this win, the post-game celebration, the fan reactions, the parade, the commentary, and even the takeaways from the perspective of someone who "gets it." I have felt that hunger and tasted that joy. I am not overstating matters when I say the Eagles' victory made me even more grateful for the championships I have known in my lifetime. In our head and in our heart, we know that victory is never a given. I have learned in my life as a sports fan that when it comes your way, hold on to the ride. It's magical. I know Philadelphia will and I also know that Doug Pederson will NEVER pay for another meal or drink anywhere in and around Philly.

A Double Standard
I do love a good Super Bowl party. I always have "Super Bowl squares" in play, I like the healthy and not so healthy snacks, and it's nice to gather with people of all ages on a Sunday afternoon. The party I attended was your typical  Super Bowl gathering: awesome flat screen TV, mixed beverages and but a few true fans of either team in attendance. The ratio of men and women was equal and the number of people who really like football veered toward, maybe 50%? I know the rhythm of these gatherings: the focus on the game won't settle in until late in third/beginning of the fourth quarter. The conversation prior to that time is all over the place. However, this year, the conversation among women, in particular, caught my attention.

• Doug Pederson is a "silver fox." I think he's hot.
• Only certain men can look that good in a visor.
• That player's body is amazing. Totally rock solid and I love how the pants these guys wear showcase them 
• Don't you think the tight end lives up to the name? He has one...

Two women discussed Tom Brady's hairstyle and its past iterations for at least 3 downs.  The extent of their conversation reminded me of media reports on how inappropriate it was that the American public talked about Hillary Clinton's hairstyle, cut and color during debates and on the campaign trail. Is one worse or different than the other?

I don't really feel the need to defend men, but I guarantee if men were talking about female athletes they way these women were talking about these men, they would be called out. Several women objectified the men on the field in the same way female athletes have been for years. For too many women, those remarks have been hurtful, disrespectful and inappropriate. I'm not convinced these were that much different.

Carson Wentz
The Eagles' *star* quarterback, the player who laid the groundwork on this championship season saw his own season come to an end on December 10, 2017. As Steven Ruiz of USA Today writes The Eagles were 10-2 and their second-year quarterback had just broken the franchise record for touchdown passes in a season. Everything was going right. But then Eagles fans were offered a stern reminder that they can’t have nice things, and Carson Wentz left Philadelphia’s game against the Rams with a knee injury.

His personal fate and the team's fate met a major roadblock. A torn ACL and LCL meant that Eagles would call upon Nick Foles. The questions that loomed large were answered as Foles stepped up, so high that he became the Super Bowl MVP.

After the game, the camera showed Wentz in the locker room, in plain clothes—the ones he wore during the game—sitting alone and crying. A number of players broke down in tears. Relief, exhaustion, pure joy, amazement, gratitude and so much more. However, when I looked at Wentz, my heart swelled. He is such a good person, I know he was crying tears of joy...but the human part of me had to wonder if those same tears weren't tears of disappointment....for not being "the guy"....for what the injury cost him...for not having the opportunity to lead the team to the win. 

Dear Players' Tribune please ask Wentz to share his thoughts on this moment. He is a man of devout faith and integrity. I know he could teach us a lot from this vantage point.

The Best Fan Reaction I've Ever Seen
The Philadelphia Eagles have sold out every home game since 1999. They have the third highest number of season ticket holders in the NFL. Sports Illustrated has deemed their fans to be the most intimidating and obnoxious of all NFL teams. 

Perhaps it's because I live nearly 3000 miles away from the Link but I find all of it highly entertaining. I scrolled and trolled social media for a good hour after both the NFC Championship and Super Bowl wins and laughed out loud time and again. In that time, I encountered what I think is the funniest and most creative fan reaction I've ever seen. Yes, I love what Steve Kerr, my favorite coach (men's sport) tweeted out: Just another Arizona Wildcat QB winning a Super Bowl. Seen in once, seen it a thousand times (Yawn)....Bear Down Nick Foles!!!! but whoever it is that had the foresight and gumption to take his dune buggy up the same steps that Rocky once scaled....Brilliant!

Philly, I know you have not yet even recovered from the victory because you are still celebrating. You might be all year. I also know, to take from "Silver Linings Playbook" there will NEVER be a question of what to wear...

Pat: Hey, my friend Ronnie is having this party on Sunday night and it's like a real hoity-toity thing. And his wife Veronica is a real stickler for... I don't know. My mom got this Gap outfit she wants me to wear, but I want to wear a jersey that my brother Jake got me from the Eagles

Dr. Cliff Patel: Which jersey?

Pat: DeSean Jackson.

Dr. Cliff Patel: DeSean Jackson is the man.

Pat: Well, that settles that.

Photo Credits
Carson Wentz
Coach Pederson
Tom Brady hair
Eagles win
Map

Having Some Fun with a Pillar in the NFL: Bill Belichick

I'm excited to share that I am officially a team member to a new venture: SportsUp News. The magazine is still in its early phases and I will be writing and contributing to its material, outreach, webpage and more in the year to come.

Thanks to the managing director, I was able to interview Pat McCaskey— Senior Director of special projects for the Chicago Bears. The grandson of George S. Halas, Sr, the founder of the Chicago Bears football team, McCaskey is also a Bears board member, author, and public speaker. He is especially fond of writing about history in sports, in particular, football. As such, he has four books to his credit and one of them "Pillars of NFL Coaches Who Have Won Three or More Championships examines the rich history and lives of the greatest coaches in NFL history, and their contributions to the game.

Here is an excerpt from an upcoming story "McCaskey “Bears down” on Faith, Family and Football."

McCaskey said “I was simply curious about which coaches had the most championships, so it was a very interesting project. The first part of it ended up as the appendix: a listing of the championships and coaches from 1920 to today. I compiled how many championships each coach won.”

“I limited the book to those who have won at least three. And it’s interesting that those ten coaches have won over 40 championships in the 95-year history of the league.”

“Most of those coaches had a dominant decade: Guy Chamerberlain in the 1920s, Curly Lambeau in the 1930s, George Halas in the 1940s, Paul Brown in the 1950s, Lombardi in the 1960s, Chuck Noll in the 1970s, Bill Walsh in the 1980s and Bill Belichick in this century. I wouldn’t have realized that unless I had done the research. I hope the Bears will have a future coach like those pillars,” he said.

I found his realization to be poignant, especially because one of the pillars is still coaching. Looking at Bill Belichick, on ESPN earlier this week, I thought to myself "maybe he will break the trend. Maybe he will be known for success in not one but two decades (of this century)."

It is not, however, hard to argue that a young boy or girl who grows up the Bay Area, and has no immediate tie to Boston or New England should be a loyal Pats fan. However, every year, I have at least one student who is. They love being different. They love supporting a team a lot of people do not (locally). They love the spoils of victory and in this case, they love being an easy target. And what should any person with an easy target do? Hit it.

Meet Anthony: a senior in my Sports and Spirituality class. He has two younger brothers and plays on the golf team. Anthony is inordinately proud of his Italian heritage. When he found out that Serena Williams lost in the US Open semifinals to an Italian, Roberta Vinci and that her opponent in the finals was another Italian, Flavia Pennetta, he gave a huge fist pump. He may have said "Forza!" too.

Anthony cares about his classmates and his work; no doubt class is better because he is in it.  He is also is somewhat of an easy target because he is fun, he doesn't take himself too seriously AND he is a huge fan of the Pats. It is a piece of his identity that no one, not even his closest friends fully understands.

Wednesday morning before class, I noticed all of the television screens at the gym featured the Pats coach, Bill Belichick in a press conference. I wasn't able to hear the questions he was answering because the gym leaves the volume on low. All I could see on the ticker underneath his press conference were the words "Patriots 13 game winning streak comes to a close." Belichick, already serious and brooding didn't lighten up for one moment. Considering the asinine questions coaches often have to answer, I get why they don't often smile.

All of this was materializing into something I needed to throw at Anthony.

He walked into class as he always does, very respectfully and said "Good Morning." I looked at him and said with total sincerity, "Anthony, is Belichick going to lose his job? I saw a press conference at the gym this morning? Do you think he's getting fired?" I said it with enough disbelief, that he paused for a minute.

"What do you mean Ms. Stricherz?" he said.

"I don't know, it's just what I saw. I mean the Pats lost on Sunday...their win streak is over.

"Ms Stricherz, they lost in overtime! They won 13 straight games!!"

At this point I just started laughing. So did another student who was in on our exchange. I loved every minute of it.

At the end of class, Anthony said "You got me pretty good Ms. Stricherz."

I told him "Anthony, I just learned about all of the coaches who have won three or more Superbowls. It's chronicled in a book. You might be interested in it (again my plight to get students to read). Your guy isn't done just yet. He won't be getting fired anytime soon."

Is it weird that my harmless practical joke put a huge smile on my face? No, because the only reason it was funny in the first place is because it verified for me that every once in a while I do what good teachers always do. They pay attention to their students—their interests, hopes and their needs. They also know them well enough to catch them off guard, which every teenager needs more than once in a while. And I can say with confidence, THAT is what teenagers love....that and for some kids at my school, the Pats.

Photo Credits
McCaskey
Belichick

Pillar Coach