The Eagles Fan Roller Coaster: An Eight-Year Journey

I’ve been watching football since late 2011 and became a fully-invested Eagles fan by 2012. All of my fellow Eagles supporters can confirm that it has been a RIDE. I decided to document all of my personal highs and lows on the appropriately named “Eagles Fan Roller Coaster”. I hope you enjoy it.

The Time I Cried:

January 4, 2014: Eagles vs. Saints, 2013 NFC Wildcard (L, 26-24)

It was the first year of the Chip Kelly era and also the first time I had gotten to witness my Birds reach the postseason. After Nick Foles and the offense left the field with a 24-23 lead, I fell into tears thanks to Khiry Robinson and the Saints offense going down the field to win with no time left. My little sister made sure to make fun of me that night

The One Time I Left a Game Early:

November 16, 2014: Eagles at Packers, Week 11, 2014 (L, 53-20)

I’ve watched well over 100 Eagles games since 2011, and only ONCE have I ever voluntarily decided not to watch. That was in Week 11, 2014 when Mark Sanchez and the Eagles were thoroughly mistreated by the Green Bay Packers. My false hope for a comeback finally vanished when the score was 33-6, and I turned off the TV and left.

The Times I Gloated:

November 27, 2014: Eagles at Cowboys, Thanksgiving 2014 (W, 33-10)

Although South Jersey is undoubtedly Eagles territory, there is an annoying number of Cowboys fans around. Safe to say that I let them all hear it when LeSean McCoy and the Eagles ate them alive on Thanksgiving Day. I was at a family friend’s house that day, and although I’m never really fond of food that isn’t made by my mother, everything was enjoyable that night.

September 25, 2016: Steelers at Eagles, Week 3, 2016 (W, 34-3)

One of my closest friends is a Steelers fan, and we don’t get to trash talk much since our teams only play once every four years. Luckily for me, the Eagles took this one handily, allowing me to bring it up constantly for almost the next half-decade.

November 26, 2017: Bears at Eagles, Week 12, 2017 (W, 31-3)

One of our former church members (RIP) was a huge Bears fan and would heckle me every time we met. Unfortunately for him, the Bears ran into us in the midst of Carson Wentz’s unreal 2017 campaign, and we walked all over them. I did not let him hear the end of it.

The Times They Gloated:

December 30, 2012: Eagles at Giants, Week 17, 2012 (L, 42-7)

My bus driver from fourth and fifth grade was a Giants fan, and she got the last laugh in 2012. The Eagles were concluding a nightmare of a season, and we ended it in the worst possible way. Eli Manning and the Giants (who also weren’t going anywhere) beat us by thirty-five points, and even beloved fullback Henry Hynoski scored his first career TD.

October 11, 2020: Eagles at Steelers, Week 5, 2020 (L, 38-29)

After four years of riding the high of our last victory over the Steelers, my friend finally got to return the favor when Chase Claypool’s four touchdowns led the Steelers to a win over us this year. I made sure to downplay their victory by citing our injuries, and I think I successfully took his enjoyment from him. He did get 24 hours of solid gloating, though.

The Time I Attended:

January 5, 2020: Seahawks at Eagles, 2019 NFC Wildcard (L, 17-9)

2020 has been a wild year, but before everything fell apart I got to attend my first Eagles game. One thing I will say, I 100% prefer the television view, but the experience is unmatched. I will forever be angry at Jadeveon Clowney for doing his absolute best to ruin my time.

Personal Favorites:

2011: Eagles 45, Jets 19 (Week 15)

In a lost season, LeSean McCoy scored three times to capture our single-season touchdown record.

2012: Eagles 23, Buccaneers 21 (Week 14)

After an eight-game losing streak, Nick Foles connected with Jeremy Maclin as time expired to lift Philadelphia over the Bucs.

2013: Eagles 54, Bears 11 (Week 16)

The score speaks for itself. The Eagles ran for 289 yards and four scores against a helpless Bears team to improve to 9-6.

2014: Eagles 33, Cowboys 10 (Week 13)

See above.

2015: Eagles 35, Patriots 28 (Week 13)

In a game we had no business winning, the Eagles defense and special teams delivered a performance for the ages to lift us over the Patriots.

2016: Eagles 34, Steelers 3 (Week 3)

See above.

2017: Eagles 37, Cowboys 9 (Week 11)

The Super Bowl/NFCCG are the obvious choices here, so I’ll go with the game where the Eagles scored 30 second-half points on their bitter rivals to improve to 9-1.

2018: Eagles 24, Redskins 0 (Week 17)

After Nick Foles recreated his late-season magic to help us back into the playoff picture, Fletcher Cox delivered a dominant performance as the Eagles punched their ticket to the postseason.

2019: Eagles 17, Cowboys 9 (Week 16)

Even though it felt like the entire roster was on Injured Reserve, the Eagles gutted out a signature victory over the Cowboys that virtually sent them to the playoffs. Cowboys fans have not been able to speak since.

Writer

-By: Micah Jimoh