As some of you might know, I am a native to New England. I am also a sports fan of the teams: Bruins, Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots. We have been blessed with multiple championship titles over the past 20 years. The Patriots being the flagship example of how bring home the hardware. With success, sometimes hubris follows, and of this, I am guilty.
I don’t gamble or boast about my sports teams—until after a win. However, I made a wager with a student, Megan Rakus. Megan is an Education major and native Philadelphian. In late January, we sat in a meeting for a student group, and as we waited for it to start, we discussed the upcoming Super Bowl between our teams. She seemed assured of a victory, so I stuck a bet.
I was confident that Nick Foles would vomit down the front of his green uniform, as McNabb did, once he saw the G.O.A.T. across the field. I anticipated Doug Peterson would tighten up, choke, and mismanage once he woke up and realized the Hoodie was his enemy. Foles and Peterson kept their cool.
During the weeks before the Super Bowl, I proudly displayed my Patriots 5X Super Bowl Champs plaque on my office door. Rest assured, I know the dark hearts of Eagles fans, so I took the plaque in each time I left campus. In my office, I heard the threats and disdain daily, but I only smirked because I knew I would have the last laugh. If I lost my plaque and gained a 6th Super Bowl, then I could live with that.
In a faculty meeting before the big game, my colleagues outed me, and they openly jeered. Again, I grinned at their impudence. “We’ll see,” I thought, “We shall see.”
The game finally came, and I sensed a victory. How could the Patriots lose to a hey-brah, visor wearing coach like Peterson? Napoleon Dynamite at QB? No way.
I won’t rant about the benching of Malcolm Butler or the missed call on the Clement end zone catch as two glaring reasons why the Eagles won Super Bowl 52.
That the Eagles beat my Patriots in Super Bowl 52 is a fact that will never change. The Eagles were the better team that Sunday evening. Nick Foles shredded the Pats defense. Brandon Graham strip sacked Tom Brady to squash a comeback drive. Peterson’s play calling proved effective.
Therefore, I publically acquiesce to the Eagles superiority and Megan Rakus’ prophetic knowledge of Eagles football.
In humbled sincerity,
Dr. Robert Ficociello
Assistant Professor of Writing
Tri-Lite 