E-Mail of the Day

One thing I plan to start doing is sharing some of the better responses I receive from different teams' fans so that you can see some of the pitches that are being made. Even though I eliminated the Eagles on Friday, this remains one of my favorite e-mails I've gotten. Keep in mind this was sent early in the season (hence the comment about having 4 QBs).  Also, I believe Keith thought I'm in L.A. rooting for Alabama instead of vice-versa.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure the "convict on parole" description really fits to me, but still a great email:

Jason,

I am a Philadelphia Eagles fan in (temporary) exile in Minnesota (and, yes, it’s as cold as they say it is). I encourage you to become a fanatical, passionate fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.

First, I want to commend you for being a passionate fan for other sports. My impression of the Left Coast fans is that they are excessively mellow and don’t get excited about anything except maybe a new guacamole or maybe a mudslide or something like that. The fact that you venture far afield to root for Alabama shows a) open-mindedness and b) some fire in the furnace. I used to live in Georgia and SEC fans are fairly psycho (=passionate) in their loves and hates of football teams. That’s why Nick Saban (former LSU coach) is so much fun in Tuscaloosa.

You need to think of Eagles fans as convicts on parole (and no, I am not referring to Michael Vick). Where else but in Philadelphia (in the old Veterans Stadium) was there a jail in the stadium? The Eagles fans booed Santa Claus! They yelled insults at Daunte Culpepper’s wife (when he was with Minnesota). They attack each other, sometimes with tragic consequences. But their tacky, manic-depressive ways reflect an underlying love for all that is Green and White. We have FOUR quarterbacks that are better than Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell. We have the largest coach in the NFL. We hate everybody in our division and they all hate us (yeah, everybody in the AFC West hates Oakland, but Denver-San Diego? Puh-leaze! Where’s the heat?) A former Eagles coach once (was accused of) put bounties on Dallas Cowboys players. This level of passion is identical to Alabama-Auburn! Think about how much you hate to hear [Auburn’s] War Eagle cheers. That’s how much Eagles’ fans hate to hear Jerry Jones.

Being an Eagles fan is not for the faint of heart. We’re up and down. But what’s the point of rooting for a team if they can just mail it in and win. (But you still want them to have a shot, otherwise you should keep those Detroit Lions pencils).

There are a lot of good teams out there besides Philadelphia: New England, Pittsburgh (my dad’s team), Indianapolis, New Orleans, etc. But you need to pick a team where you can fit in with the fans: Passion, craziness, even anger, occasional bodily harm.

The Philadelphia Eagles are for you. The Green and White are waiting.

Best,

Keith