The parade was a week ago today but it seems like a month. Since then, I've flown back and forth to Seattle, which really does seem like the end of the earth when you're in an airplane. I've tried to get re-engaged with the Eagles and, sitting there in Qwest Field last Sunday, largely failed. Some of it was mental exhaustion but more of it was physical after a month of late nights covering a baseball team on a historic run -- late nights, early flights, huge events, tons of extra typing, tight deadlines, and then the fun that comes after the tight deadlines, fun shared with great friends who are the only people who realize that what we do can simultaneously be so stressful and so much fun.
Now come the Giants, and the re-engagement.
I guess you can look at this in a couple of ways. One theory is that the town will just maintain a happy buzz for an indefinite period of time, that the Eagles will get a pass here regardless of what happens this season. Another theory is that the bar has been raised by the Phillies and that the Eagles will be slammed even harder than ever if they don't win a Super Bowl -- the revolution of rising expectations, as they call it in the poly sci textbooks.
I have never believed in the happy buzz theory. If this season goes bad for the Eagles, I think there will be villagers and pitchforks, as always. If it goes well, the bandwagon will roll. True enough, it was an odd feeling as the baseball team dominated the town during football season, at least for a week or two. And this last 7 days of post-parade malaise might have been even odder. In November, it is strange not to care.
But, a couple of good nights' sleep and I'm ready again.
Are you?