i'm not sure if this is a typical NY kind of thing, but when your team is losing, you turn the tube off and hope it's just your bad luck that's transfering to them. Dad was the expert on this. i remember back in the late 90's during one of the world series games, when the Yanks were losing 0-6 and Bernie Williams decided to make it his year... i had to go wake Dad and tell him...he put his slippers on and headed to the livingroom because he had turned the tv off...couldn't bear to see his team lose or worse, believe that his keeping the tv on was what was jinxing them...
philly fans have no concept of this. they boast. they are in your face. they are downright obnoxious and arrogant that their team will get to any championship game. they paint themselves in philly team colors, put suction flags on their cars, boo the guest team's fans. radiostations host ticket giveaways where folks wade through manure, sell their cars, flush their uncles ashes in order to win... little children sing team songs for the camera...
and then the team loses and all is quiet. the morning after is like a quiet hangover of bitterness, anger, and self-pity...
then comes along a team...6 legged. 4 are equine, 2 human. the human is a bit of a troublemaker. the equine had a bit of a rough beginning. the equine could care less who's singing, chanting, painting themselves brown...he can't read the letters wishing good luck and isn't impressed you sold mom's old wedding dress for the "big game" tickets. he just lets the little guy ride him, push him to be faster than any other horse that day.
Smarty Jones made the current cover of ESPN magazine. finally...Philly has a winner. and he could care less. but just in case, don't freakin' say the "B" word or the "T" word!
;-)
