This Is Painful

The Eagles are not on local TV today, so Helaine and I are listening to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick do the radio play-by-play.

This has been a great year for the Eagles. So far, they’re 7-0. That’s probably going to change.

The Eagles are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. We watched the Steelers dismantle the New England Patriots last weekend. Today they are filleting the Eagles.

It is as if the Eagles never got on the bus to go to the stadium. This is very sad for two reasons. First, the Eagles undefeated streak will end. Second, we could end up meeting the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Of course it’s possible the Eagles could come back from the 21-0 deficit they’re currently facing. I just don’t see how.

At The Eagles Game in Spirit Only

I am not writing this from Lincoln Financial Field. I did not take Amtrak to Philadelphia. I assume my friend Barry is sitting home and not at the game either.

It’s a real shame, because I wanted to go to the game. But, it was not to be. Even though the snow stopped overnight, there was no reasonable expectation that my train would be able to hold to its schedule. It would originate in Springfield, MA and then move south through Hartford before getting to New Haven’s Union Station.

The Eagles game is the glamor game in the NFL today. The Eagles and Cowboys are both contenders. A win by the Eagles assures them a playoff spot with 3 more to play. An Eagle loss would give them both the same record, but put Dallas ahead by virtue of 2 head-to-head wins.

Here in Connecticut, the game wasn’t shown on TV. Instead, we got the Giants and Redskins. Even parents of players on those teams wanted the Eagles game!

Helaine and I sat and listened to the game on the PC. Three weeks ago, I subscribed to the NFL audio package, and it’s pretty good. Our feed is from WYSP with Merrill Reese (who I worked with 23 years ago) and Mike Quick.

All the commercials are removed, leaving dead air. Believe it or not, you miss the commercials. The silence spoils the flow of the game. Actually, the commercial pauses hurts the game at the stadium too.

Happily, the Eagles won big… big enough that I’ve already heard two sportscasters on two separate networks call it a rout.

Barry has invited me. again, two weeks from today. It’s tough to resist.