(Excluded from the list are things which I either didn't attend, like the 1993 doubleheader against the Padres that ended at 4:40 a.m. or the Switzer Fifth-and-1 game, or that I attended but have no real memory of, like Game 2 of the 1980 World Series.)
In chronological order, then, the dozen:
June 3, 1978: The first ballgame I can remember attending, and that's because Davey Johnson won the game with a walk-off pinch-hit grand slam. Wow.
The 1983 Playoffs: Not because we got to see the Wheeze Kids win two against the Dodgers before getting swept by the O's, but because for some reason we had seats in section 214 downstairs, surrounded by the players' wives and children for each game. Todd and I got to hang out with Joe Morgan's kids and Garry Maddox's kids (and I think Gary Matthews Jr.), who were around our age, and they were just so damn cool and nice.
September 12-14, 1986: The Strawberry/Carter/Doc Mets just needed to win one game during the weekend to clinch their first division title in 13 years, and the crowds are composed of about 15,000 Phillies fans and 30,000 Mets fans, screaming and yelling obnoxiously all weekend long. And just for the heck of it, the Phils sweep the series (1, 2, and 3). Drunken Mets fans are so disgusted that they tear down the seats and start throwing them at the field on Saturday and Sunday.
October 10, 1988: Monday Night Football, Eagles-Giants. Cunningham marches down the field from our left to right. Third and goal on the 5. Cunningham rolls right, gets tilted by Carl Banks, regains his footing, rolls, rolls, finds Jimmie Giles in the end zone. Touchdown. Eagles win, 24-13.
November 12, 1990: The body bag game. Eagles-Redskins. Monday Night Football. Eagles defense knocks out Skins QBs Stan Humphries and Jeff Rutledge from the game, leaving kick returner Brian Mitchell to take snaps for the rest of the game. Eagles 28, Washington 14.
September 3, 1992: U2. Zoo TV Outside Broadcast tour. Todd and I got seventh-row floor seats. Greatest rock spectacle I've ever seen. Overwhelmingly cool.
September 18, 1994: Reggie White's emotional return with the Packers to the Vet. Great defensive struggle. Eagles leading 13-7 late in the game as Favre marches the Pack down the field. Fourth and goal on the five. Favre throws a swing pass to Edgar Bennett four yards short of the goal, and Otis Smith decks him, preventing him from going an inch further. I learn a lesson this day: if you need five yards, throw the ball at least five yards downfield.
December 30, 1995: Eagles-Detroit wildcard game. A curiously warm late-December day as Rodney Peete leads the Eagles in a rout Wayne Fontes' Lions, taking a 51-7 lead in the third quarter and winning 58-37. Lomas Brown cries. Rob Carpenter (who?) catches a Hail Mary TD to end the first half. The pride is back.
November 10, 1997: Oh, the Eagles got blown out on Monday Night Football. 24-6 at halftime behind Steve Young's arm, and most of the place clears out during the third quarter. My friend Ben and I stick around, after our fathers leave, because we're waiting to see Bobby Hoying (pre-ordained Next Eagles Savior) come in for relief work. Before he does, an angry fan shoots a flare gun across the length of the field. Eagles Court is born.
The Wild-Card Wins Over Tampa: On December 31, 2000 and January 12, 2002, the Eagles stomp all over Warren Sapp and the Buccaneers (21-3, 31-9) in butt-cold weather to advance in the playoffs. They weren't just football games . . . they were parties. Which is why last year hurt so much.
December 30, 2001: Eagles-Giants. Winner takes the NFC East. Eagles trail 21-14, then score ten points in the last two minutes, capped by a 35-yard David Akers FG. But it's not over yet, as Kerry Collins works the hook-and-ladder via Tiki Barber to Ron Dixon, who races all the way to the Eagles' six-yard-line before being downed. The most exciting finish I think I've ever seen at a game, and it remains the only Eagles game Jen has attended with me.
April 27, 2003: Kevin Millwood, no-hitter. (Maybe this is the Phillies year, we thought.) Read my recap (with photos) here.
Feel free to add to the list. That's what the Comments are for.
No comments:
Post a Comment