The Philadelphia Eagles have been performing so poorly lately that it's easy to forget that less than two years ago they were the Super Bowl Champs. They were really a Cinderella team that defied the odds. And in true Philly style, they embraced their underdog status and propelled themselves and the city on to victory over smug and contented opponents who thought the championship was their hallowed right.
So, let's go back right now and view that whole magical moment through the eyes of Thor Bowers, an impressionable and exceptionally talented sixth grader who wrote the following personal narrative titled The Day They Finally Won:
I had been waiting for this day for two weeks. Some other family members, like my grandpa, had been waiting for this moment for over sixty years. Yes, you heard that right; sixty years! The Eagles were in the Super Bowl!
The Eagles were having a great season, easily the best team in the league. Everyone was confident and expecting the Eagles to win. That was until, of course, we lost our MVP like quarterback, Carson Wentz to a leg injury. Our backup Nick Foles took over. Suddenly everyone doubted us, we were the underdogs in every game from then on. Philadelphia, the craziest sports city in America, didn’t like that. All the doubts were just fuel for us to win.
I went to the Eagles first playoff game on the road to a Super Bowl. We were playing the Atlanta Falcons, last year's conference champs. Favored or not, the Eagles stadium was sold out, and it always will be.
We started the game as 3-point underdogs. The temperature was a bone-chilling fifteen degrees at kickoff, plus the wind, which made it feel so much colder. They were leading most of the game, until two field-goals took the lead, but the Falcons drove to the 2-yard line with less than a minute to go. It was fourth-down. The crowd was going wild. This wasn’t the play of the game; it was the play of the season. I remember the levels of anxiety as he threw it to the best wide receiver in the league, Julio Jones, who would catch a wide-open 99 out of 100 times, but he dropped it! The crowd went wild. I was hugging random people in that moment of chaos.
A week later, this time I was in the warmth of my house, the Eagles played the Vikings, again the underdog. The Vikings scored on their first drive, and they made it look easy. Then, BOOM. We scored thirty-eight unanswered points, and the Vikings looked helpless. The level of confidence skyrocketed as we soared past the entire NFC and sailed into the Super Bowl.
Finally, the day had come. The Eagles were set to play the Patriots in US Bank Stadium in the frigid land of Minnesota. We had our friends, the Coles, and my grandparents, over at my house to watch the game. The scene was the most dramatic scene possible. The Patriots, an NFL dynasty, led by a hall of fame quarter-back Tom Brady, versus the winningest team in league to never win a championship, the Eagles.
The game started well. A field-goal and then an AMAZING touchdown catch by Alshon Jeffery had us leading 9 to 3 early in the game. The remainder of the first half was uneventful... wait, I forgot something. I only forgot the greatest trick play in NFL history. The signature moment of Super Bowl 52, the Philly Special. See, it was fourth-down at the one-yard line. Thirty seconds to go in the second quarter. Everyone thought we were going to kick a field goal and take an even bigger lead. Nope. That’s just not what Philadelphia does. The play went like this: Nick Foles walked up to the O-line to change the play, a normal thing in football. But then, before he walked back to take the snap, the snap went to Corey Clement, our running back, and he pitched it back to our tight-end Trey Burton, who quickly threw it to a wide open Foles for a touchdown.
Thor Bowers November 11th, 2019 Personal Narrative
22-12 was our score at halftime, which showed no indication whatsoever of the madness that was to come. During a depressing third-quarter, Tom Brady did Tom Brady things, and he brought his team closer and closer to taking the lead. Luckily, they wouldn’t take the lead in the third quarter. Nope. That would happen in the fourth quarter.
Yup, you heard that right, the Patriots scored and took their first lead of the game with around eight minutes left in the game. Everyone at my house found their own depressed spot. We were staring at the TV, not saying a word. We were sad, exhausted of the same ending every season, a humiliating loss. Things were looking up slightly though, as we were slowly creeping toward the end zone. I was begging for a win. Little did I know, the best part was yet to come.
Third and seven. Fifteen yards from a super bowl championship. We watched as Nick Foles threw it to Zach Ertz, and he ran and dove for the end zone. The play was immediately under review. Did he score? And for ten agonizingly nervous minutes, the refs talked amongst each other. Finally, they walked out and shouted
“The ruling on the field stands, touchdown.” I jumped up and down, screaming. We had taken the lead! 38-33 was the score with two minutes left. But we only had one problem. Tom Brady and the Patriots are known for their legendary comebacks. The previous year, the Patriots came back from a 25- point deficit to win in Super Bowl 51 against the Falcons. A five-point comeback with minutes left would be nothing to them.
Our defense had been horrible so far in the game. So far, we had let the Patriots offense cruise down the field with ease. Our defense needed one stop. And that stop we would get. Brady looked to throw, but as he threw it, defensive end Brandon Graham ripped the ball from Brady’s grasp, and the ball ended up into the hands of Darek Barnett. Our living room exploded with chaos. We had the ball with the lead! We all thought the game was over for sure. But little did we know at the time, the game was far from over.
We were held to a field goal, and with :58 showing on the clock, they got the ball back, and they could still score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime. They executed their offence perfectly, and in almost no time, they were forty yards from a game tying touchdown with nine seconds on the clock. The game already had the most yards in NFL history. I was walking into the room as the play happened. Brady took the snap. He ran around, evaded the sack and threw a desperation ball that felt like it was in the air forever. He threw it as far as he could to his tight end, who was surrounded by eagles players. It was a sea of hands as every player reached for the ball. The ball bounced around and hit the green turf right as time expired at US Bank stadium. The game was over! We were Super Bowl champions!
Fireworks were going off nearby, it was midnight, and we were partying. The winning feeling was amazing. We pulled off our underdog masks as Super Bowl Champs!
The Eagles were having a great season, easily the best team in the league. Everyone was confident and expecting the Eagles to win. That was until, of course, we lost our MVP like quarterback, Carson Wentz to a leg injury. Our backup Nick Foles took over. Suddenly everyone doubted us, we were the underdogs in every game from then on. Philadelphia, the craziest sports city in America, didn’t like that. All the doubts were just fuel for us to win.
I went to the Eagles first playoff game on the road to a Super Bowl. We were playing the Atlanta Falcons, last year's conference champs. Favored or not, the Eagles stadium was sold out, and it always will be.
We started the game as 3-point underdogs. The temperature was a bone-chilling fifteen degrees at kickoff, plus the wind, which made it feel so much colder. They were leading most of the game, until two field-goals took the lead, but the Falcons drove to the 2-yard line with less than a minute to go. It was fourth-down. The crowd was going wild. This wasn’t the play of the game; it was the play of the season. I remember the levels of anxiety as he threw it to the best wide receiver in the league, Julio Jones, who would catch a wide-open 99 out of 100 times, but he dropped it! The crowd went wild. I was hugging random people in that moment of chaos.
A week later, this time I was in the warmth of my house, the Eagles played the Vikings, again the underdog. The Vikings scored on their first drive, and they made it look easy. Then, BOOM. We scored thirty-eight unanswered points, and the Vikings looked helpless. The level of confidence skyrocketed as we soared past the entire NFC and sailed into the Super Bowl.
Finally, the day had come. The Eagles were set to play the Patriots in US Bank Stadium in the frigid land of Minnesota. We had our friends, the Coles, and my grandparents, over at my house to watch the game. The scene was the most dramatic scene possible. The Patriots, an NFL dynasty, led by a hall of fame quarter-back Tom Brady, versus the winningest team in league to never win a championship, the Eagles.
The game started well. A field-goal and then an AMAZING touchdown catch by Alshon Jeffery had us leading 9 to 3 early in the game. The remainder of the first half was uneventful... wait, I forgot something. I only forgot the greatest trick play in NFL history. The signature moment of Super Bowl 52, the Philly Special. See, it was fourth-down at the one-yard line. Thirty seconds to go in the second quarter. Everyone thought we were going to kick a field goal and take an even bigger lead. Nope. That’s just not what Philadelphia does. The play went like this: Nick Foles walked up to the O-line to change the play, a normal thing in football. But then, before he walked back to take the snap, the snap went to Corey Clement, our running back, and he pitched it back to our tight-end Trey Burton, who quickly threw it to a wide open Foles for a touchdown.
Thor Bowers November 11th, 2019 Personal Narrative
22-12 was our score at halftime, which showed no indication whatsoever of the madness that was to come. During a depressing third-quarter, Tom Brady did Tom Brady things, and he brought his team closer and closer to taking the lead. Luckily, they wouldn’t take the lead in the third quarter. Nope. That would happen in the fourth quarter.
Yup, you heard that right, the Patriots scored and took their first lead of the game with around eight minutes left in the game. Everyone at my house found their own depressed spot. We were staring at the TV, not saying a word. We were sad, exhausted of the same ending every season, a humiliating loss. Things were looking up slightly though, as we were slowly creeping toward the end zone. I was begging for a win. Little did I know, the best part was yet to come.
Third and seven. Fifteen yards from a super bowl championship. We watched as Nick Foles threw it to Zach Ertz, and he ran and dove for the end zone. The play was immediately under review. Did he score? And for ten agonizingly nervous minutes, the refs talked amongst each other. Finally, they walked out and shouted
“The ruling on the field stands, touchdown.” I jumped up and down, screaming. We had taken the lead! 38-33 was the score with two minutes left. But we only had one problem. Tom Brady and the Patriots are known for their legendary comebacks. The previous year, the Patriots came back from a 25- point deficit to win in Super Bowl 51 against the Falcons. A five-point comeback with minutes left would be nothing to them.
Our defense had been horrible so far in the game. So far, we had let the Patriots offense cruise down the field with ease. Our defense needed one stop. And that stop we would get. Brady looked to throw, but as he threw it, defensive end Brandon Graham ripped the ball from Brady’s grasp, and the ball ended up into the hands of Darek Barnett. Our living room exploded with chaos. We had the ball with the lead! We all thought the game was over for sure. But little did we know at the time, the game was far from over.
We were held to a field goal, and with :58 showing on the clock, they got the ball back, and they could still score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime. They executed their offence perfectly, and in almost no time, they were forty yards from a game tying touchdown with nine seconds on the clock. The game already had the most yards in NFL history. I was walking into the room as the play happened. Brady took the snap. He ran around, evaded the sack and threw a desperation ball that felt like it was in the air forever. He threw it as far as he could to his tight end, who was surrounded by eagles players. It was a sea of hands as every player reached for the ball. The ball bounced around and hit the green turf right as time expired at US Bank stadium. The game was over! We were Super Bowl champions!
Fireworks were going off nearby, it was midnight, and we were partying. The winning feeling was amazing. We pulled off our underdog masks as Super Bowl Champs!
No comments:
Post a Comment