Curses

I am happy to report that on Friday morning, I weighed in at a 17-pound loss since March 1st. I am sad to report that over the weekend, I gave back a nice little chunk of that progress. A number of elements factored in to this taking of two steps back, not the least of which was "cheat day" turning into "cheat weekend". I wasn't feeling well for most of the weekend, and I turned to some comfort foods (and beverages) to pull me through. Oh well. I am still down a little over 10 pounds - and it's back on the points wagon.

I was listening to the radio Sunday night after Villanova's loss to Florida in the NCAA Men's Basketball national quarterfinals, and the topic that was being bandied about ALMOST prompted me to call the station to tell the host and the listeners how off-base they all were. Almost everyone was referring to a "curse" on Philadelphia sports fans, a theory that continues to gain momentum as our sports teams extend a 22+ year championship drought. While I do not feel there is any curse working against Philadelphia sports fans (although Philly sports fans have done a lot to DESERVE a curse, but I digress), this was not what got me riled up. What got my eyebrow raised and my temper flaring was the suggestion that a Villanova national championship would be considered an end to the suffering for a championship-starved city.

As many of you know (well, you should), I am and have always been a huge Philly sports fan. I am proud to be a Philly sports fan. But man, sometimes I hate Philly sports fans. Philly fans are lauded nationally for our loyalty to our teams. However, Philly sports fans will turn on a player in a heartbeat. Janet Jackson's 1986 hit "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" might as well have been written about Philadelphia sports fans. As loyal as we are, most of us are just as fickle. Most of us will go to the grave rooting for our teams, but we will just as passionately try to run a struggling player out of town. We are the most feared, toughest fans in the country - yet we morph into the biggest collection of loudmouth crybabies who can't scream loud enough about how bad we have it and how much we DESERVE a champion. The passion of the fan base of this city is legendary, but so is the level of negativity that surrounds us. It is my argument that it is this negativity that has shrouded our teams in whatever "curse" that has befallen us. As an aside, if there is a curse or a pox upon the fans of Philadelphia, who laid it on us? Santa Clause? Jimmy Johnson's hair? Wendell Davis's knees?

Red Sox fans deserved their championship in 2003. Cubs fans deserve a championship. The fans of these franchises support their teams through good times and bad - always packing the stadium to root on their clubs. Now, I am not suggesting that a poorly-run franchise deserves our hard-earned money - or that we should fork that money over for tickets to support a lost cause, but there has to be more than a 23-year championship drought to justify an argument that we deserve a championship.

Back to my original point: a Villanova championship, while enjoyable, would NOT constitute a break in the collective Philadelphia 22+ year championship chasm. First of all, not everyone in the city is a Villanova fan. While I follow all of the teams in the Big 5 and root for them during the season - I am more of a Temple guy. Plus, I married a St. Joe's girl. Only a championship in one of the four major sports (although some could argue that a Flyers championship wouldn't quite do it for them) could constitute a breaking of the "curse". And from the looks of it, we might be languishing awhile longer.

[Currently Listening: Mustard Plug - "Beer (Song)"]