Yahoo Sports An Eagles-Commanders NFC Championship is my personal hell
The Philadelphia Eagles versus Washington Commanders for the NFC Championship is not a game I ever expected to see, nor is it one I’ll find much enjoyment in. The only thing that could have made it worse is if the game was in Dallas.
That'll be the case for many a New York Giants fan on Sunday. Especially this one.
Growing up 10 minutes from the former FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, in the late 90s, I found that my NFL fandom was as much about rooting against my team’s NFC East rivals as it was rooting for the Giants -- especially when they faced Washington and Dallas, because I was surrounded by their fans and paraphernalia. We were all children of parents who recently enjoyed the division's glory years and didn't realize they were over yet. They instilled that pride in us. Playing and beating each other meant everything.
There was no leaning on the Giants’ 1987 and 1991 Super Bowls for me. The first was three months before I was born and the second came before I was a conscious football fan. By the time I pledged my allegiance to the Giants, Lawrence Taylor was merely a troubled legend from the cover of a David Falkner book on my parents' bookshelf. Phil Simms was the dude calling games on TV.
My early fandom was marked by other future analysts with less decorated pro careers. Guys like Danny Kanell and Jesse Palmer. Seeing them play had me thinking Kerry Collins was Dan Marino. At least Michael Strahan was always good. Tiki Barber was decent once he figured out his fumble-itis.
When the Giants made the 2001 Super Bowl, I was already as much a hater of their rivals as I was a fan of them. If I couldn’t experience joy, neither could they. The result of that game only strengthened my attitude. The Giants followed my most memorable win to date – a 41-0 beatdown of Randy Moss and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship – with my most embarrassing loss. To the other local team. The Baltimore Ravens beat us 34-7 in front of the entire world. I guess God really does give his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.
But while that stung, I had new bragging rights: “When was the last time your team even made the Super Bowl?” For the other storied teams of the East, the answer was becoming further and further away.
Then, those pesky Eagles under new coach Andy Reid started dominating us, and the division, and the conference. They officially made the list. Saquon Barkley would've been my villain turn at this stage of life. Though I encountered their fans less frequently, my trifecta of hate was complete.
If not for Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and those improbable 2008 and 2012 title runs, my Giants fandom would likely be just a small flicker if not completely extinguished by now. They haven’t given their supporters much to root for outside of those two years. But my antipathy for the team down the road from my childhood home? And the one up I-95? And the one in Texas? Oh, that never got old. The fans of those teams I came to befriend, love and keep contact with made sure of it.
That’s why Eagles-Commanders is my own personal hell. On the bright side, at least one of them has to lose.
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This article originally appeared on For The Win: An Eagles-Commanders NFC Championship is my personal hell
