Football

I'm sitting here, still scratching my head, trying to understand just what it was that I spent over 3-1/2 hours watching this past Sunday afternoon, a "pro" football game which was supposed to be a mismatch. The Eagles had squandered a winnable game against the Giants the week before, but this game was their chance to knock off the Bengals and get back into the playoff hunt.

It didn't quite work out that way, and the Birds showed up seemingly hell-bent on loosing, handing the Bengals every opportunity, including 4 interceptions. The game was at 13-13 after regulation and the overtime was excruciating to watch. The clock mercifully, eventually ticked down to zero and ended.

As the great Eagles radio announcer Merrill Reese said, "If there was ever a game where neither team deserved to win, this is it."

Then we get this astonishing quote from Donovan McNabb, the Eagles QB for just about 10 years, at one time considered one of the best in the business:

"I've never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book," McNabb said after the game. "It's part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie."

I would expect the team leader to be some kind of a student of the game, and know what's in the rule book. Even a 9-year-old kid playing Madden knows you just get one OT in regular season.

I am ashamed of myself for spending almost an entire afternoon watching this fiasco.

But hey, I'm a fan, and that's what fans do.