Football Follies

By Mary Matus

As we enter February, the football season is officially over. And while I will miss following my favorite teams, I am a little glad it is over.

People have asked me if I'm excited about the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the Super Bowl. I usually just shrug and say "I guess." I'm from Pennsylvania. I must love those Steelers, right?

Not really. I don't know why but I've never been a big fan. Instead of cheering on the Steelers, I spent the latter part of the football season mourning what could have been with my beloved Philadelphia Eagles.

It was their year last year. Even though we didn't win the Super Bowl, it was still a close game and I was proud of my boys.

When football season came around this year, I couldn't wait to see what we would show everybody this year. It was the beginning of a new era for Philadelphia. No longer would we be laughed at and called "chokers."

Maybe I spoke too soon. A series of events made it impossible for the Eagles to match what had happened the previous year. It started with a certain player who thought he was better than everybody else — not that he's the sole purpose for the season. (Though I think if I could blame global warming on this guy I would) After that it just fell apart.

When they didn't have a stellar start to the season, I decided to just be patient and they would pick up later in the season. (If there's anything we Eagles fan know is how to be patient.) It never happened.

I went from people congratulating me for my team being in the Super Bowl back to people telling me, "Ooh, you're an Eagles fan? That's too bad."

The football season wasn't a total loss. My high school football team which I had discussed in previous columns (and apparently a little harshly as I was told) has finally begun winning, including one big win over the former state champions — which had to be one of the biggest upsets in the state. I just had to cut out pictures from the area newspapers showing the stunned losers standing with this look on their faces like "We lost to who??"

I was in disbelief by the end of the season. In just a few years we had gone from being 3-7 to 7-3.

If I've learned anything over the past few years, it's that you never know what might happen. You might go from having only one two wins one year to making that state playoffs a few short years later. Or you might make it to the Super Bowl one year and the next year having a losing season.

I'll just continue to stand by my teams.