Monday, August 02, 2004
Some Q's; Some A's
I’ve gotten some questions about who I am and what this blog is all about, so where is a FAQ of sorts:
Q: Where do you live?
A: Wexford (Pittsburgh), by way of Downingtown, PA. I graduated from Downingtown Senior High in 1995, and then I came to Pittsburgh in that year to go to college at the University of Pittsburgh. I stayed for law school at Duquesne University.
Q: If you live in Pittsburgh, why a blog devoted to the Eagles?
A: Good question. I’ve spent the last nine years of my life in Western Pennsylvania and, while I like it and while I like the local sports teams, in my heart I remain a Eagles / Phillies / Flyers fan. These are the teams I grew up with, rooted for, and suffered through the agony of their defeat. That means something. I remember a few months ago an article in SI written about the UNC-Duke rivalry: noting that UNC educated in-state students exclusively and that Duke was almost entirely full of out-of-staters, the author (a true-blue UNC fan) complained about the rootless, transitory experience Duke typified, as contrasted with the warm, homey UNC. The article had a big effect on me: I live in Pittsburgh but I root for Philly sports teams because that is a bond that I have and I think that people (especially in Pittsburgh) can respect that desire to keep with your roots and be true to who you are. And I am an Iggles fan.
Q: So do you dislike Pittsburgh teams or something?
A: Heck no. I like the Stillers, and just a few weeks ago my best man (I’m getting married in 5 weeks) and I shouted ourselves hoarse watching the Penguins blank the Stars 4-0. The Pirates? I’m hopeful they are getting better (they seem to be) and let me just tell you that PNC Park is a gorgeous place to watch baseball. And I went to Pitt, so you know who I’m rooting for on Saturdays.
Q: Okay. Favorite Eagle?
A: Donovan McNabb. Best QB the Eagles have had since Jaws. You can’t tell me different.
Q: Second?
A: It used to be Duce, but now it's Brian Dawkins. I love his energy and emotion. He’s old-school. You could just see him hitting guys wearing a leather helmet in the 1940s.
Q: Favorite Eagles moment?
A: I’m tempted to say Mitchell’s 4th-and-26 grab against the Packers, or the Miracle at the Meadowlands II (Brian Westbrook’s punt return against the G-men), but I have to go with the Eagles-49ers Monday Night Football game in ’02: everyone thought that the Eagles were going to be awful without McNabb but Koy and A.J. pitched a heck of a game and the birds played with a lot of fire and determination. It was the game that saved the ’02 season.
Q: Second favorite?
A: Gotta be the Cowboys-Eagles season-opener in ’00. It was the blast that opened the Reid / McNabb era and eviscerated the Cowboys. Since the Eagles won that game they’ve gone 45-18 and have been to the NFC title game 3 times. I remembered watching the Eagles open the game with the on-side kick, and then I just spent the rest of the game jumping for joy. The Eagles spent the first quarter pounding away at the ‘Boys and led 21-0 on their way to a 41-13 romp. The frustration of watching the ‘Boys win those Super Bowls in the 90’s with their band of felons was washed away. The Eagles had arrived.
Q: Ever been to an Eagles game?
A: Sadly no. Tixs were always too expensive and I’ve been in college for the last few years. Never been to a Stillers game either, though I went to plenty of Pitt football games in college. Actually got to see a McNabb-led Syracuse team beat Pitt in a 32-27 thriller in ’97. (Great game: it was about twenty degrees outside with snow flurries. The Orange led 19-0 going into the fourth quarter when Pitt went on a 27-7 run to take the lead 27-26 before Donovan led the Orange back to win with a late TD.)
Q: How did you start your blog?
A: I had heard of blogs with reference to the election: the Howard Dean campaign had largely built their organization via the internet and their blog was critical to enlisting help. I thought it was neat, but hadn’t a clue about how to make one. Then I went to a lecture at my law school on internet research. The professor told us about Blogger and how easy it was. Voila! I set up The Bird Blog and then A Citizen’s Blog. Blogging the Phils has been rough this year with how lousy they’ve played. I’m looking forward to the fall campaign with the birds.
Q: So you blog the Phils and Birds. What else do you do?
A: I graduated from law school in June and I took the bar last month. Right now I’m looking for a job and I’m moving into my new apartment with my fiancée in a suburb north of Pittsburgh called Wexford. I’m not sure right yet what I want to do with my shiny new law degree. I’d like to work for a D.A.’s office, but we’ll see. As for my spare time, I follow politics and world affairs pretty closely, but I won’t tell you my partisan affiliation. I like to read a lot: I have a bunch of John le Carre novels sitting on my bookshelf that I want to dive into, as well as some non-fiction. I'm also a big fan of tv's 24 & Alias. I also love VH1's Best Week Ever.
Q: Favorite non-sports links?
A: Aint-It-Cool-News for its terrific snipits about movies and tv shows before they get released.
Anything else anyone wants to know?
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Q: Where do you live?
A: Wexford (Pittsburgh), by way of Downingtown, PA. I graduated from Downingtown Senior High in 1995, and then I came to Pittsburgh in that year to go to college at the University of Pittsburgh. I stayed for law school at Duquesne University.
Q: If you live in Pittsburgh, why a blog devoted to the Eagles?
A: Good question. I’ve spent the last nine years of my life in Western Pennsylvania and, while I like it and while I like the local sports teams, in my heart I remain a Eagles / Phillies / Flyers fan. These are the teams I grew up with, rooted for, and suffered through the agony of their defeat. That means something. I remember a few months ago an article in SI written about the UNC-Duke rivalry: noting that UNC educated in-state students exclusively and that Duke was almost entirely full of out-of-staters, the author (a true-blue UNC fan) complained about the rootless, transitory experience Duke typified, as contrasted with the warm, homey UNC. The article had a big effect on me: I live in Pittsburgh but I root for Philly sports teams because that is a bond that I have and I think that people (especially in Pittsburgh) can respect that desire to keep with your roots and be true to who you are. And I am an Iggles fan.
Q: So do you dislike Pittsburgh teams or something?
A: Heck no. I like the Stillers, and just a few weeks ago my best man (I’m getting married in 5 weeks) and I shouted ourselves hoarse watching the Penguins blank the Stars 4-0. The Pirates? I’m hopeful they are getting better (they seem to be) and let me just tell you that PNC Park is a gorgeous place to watch baseball. And I went to Pitt, so you know who I’m rooting for on Saturdays.
Q: Okay. Favorite Eagle?
A: Donovan McNabb. Best QB the Eagles have had since Jaws. You can’t tell me different.
Q: Second?
A: It used to be Duce, but now it's Brian Dawkins. I love his energy and emotion. He’s old-school. You could just see him hitting guys wearing a leather helmet in the 1940s.
Q: Favorite Eagles moment?
A: I’m tempted to say Mitchell’s 4th-and-26 grab against the Packers, or the Miracle at the Meadowlands II (Brian Westbrook’s punt return against the G-men), but I have to go with the Eagles-49ers Monday Night Football game in ’02: everyone thought that the Eagles were going to be awful without McNabb but Koy and A.J. pitched a heck of a game and the birds played with a lot of fire and determination. It was the game that saved the ’02 season.
Q: Second favorite?
A: Gotta be the Cowboys-Eagles season-opener in ’00. It was the blast that opened the Reid / McNabb era and eviscerated the Cowboys. Since the Eagles won that game they’ve gone 45-18 and have been to the NFC title game 3 times. I remembered watching the Eagles open the game with the on-side kick, and then I just spent the rest of the game jumping for joy. The Eagles spent the first quarter pounding away at the ‘Boys and led 21-0 on their way to a 41-13 romp. The frustration of watching the ‘Boys win those Super Bowls in the 90’s with their band of felons was washed away. The Eagles had arrived.
Q: Ever been to an Eagles game?
A: Sadly no. Tixs were always too expensive and I’ve been in college for the last few years. Never been to a Stillers game either, though I went to plenty of Pitt football games in college. Actually got to see a McNabb-led Syracuse team beat Pitt in a 32-27 thriller in ’97. (Great game: it was about twenty degrees outside with snow flurries. The Orange led 19-0 going into the fourth quarter when Pitt went on a 27-7 run to take the lead 27-26 before Donovan led the Orange back to win with a late TD.)
Q: How did you start your blog?
A: I had heard of blogs with reference to the election: the Howard Dean campaign had largely built their organization via the internet and their blog was critical to enlisting help. I thought it was neat, but hadn’t a clue about how to make one. Then I went to a lecture at my law school on internet research. The professor told us about Blogger and how easy it was. Voila! I set up The Bird Blog and then A Citizen’s Blog. Blogging the Phils has been rough this year with how lousy they’ve played. I’m looking forward to the fall campaign with the birds.
Q: So you blog the Phils and Birds. What else do you do?
A: I graduated from law school in June and I took the bar last month. Right now I’m looking for a job and I’m moving into my new apartment with my fiancée in a suburb north of Pittsburgh called Wexford. I’m not sure right yet what I want to do with my shiny new law degree. I’d like to work for a D.A.’s office, but we’ll see. As for my spare time, I follow politics and world affairs pretty closely, but I won’t tell you my partisan affiliation. I like to read a lot: I have a bunch of John le Carre novels sitting on my bookshelf that I want to dive into, as well as some non-fiction. I'm also a big fan of tv's 24 & Alias. I also love VH1's Best Week Ever.
Q: Favorite non-sports links?
A: Aint-It-Cool-News for its terrific snipits about movies and tv shows before they get released.
Anything else anyone wants to know?
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