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January 24, 2005

Eagles Viewing Post-Game News Conference

News, notes, and reactions from the living room after the big game

The following is the complete transcript of the post-game news conference conducted in my living room following the Philadelphia Eagles' 27-10 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, in which the team advanced to their first Super Bowl since I was 4. I watched said game. On a large television. At a bar.

TKITC: First, injuries. Had a tough time with some of the snacks and bar food. Wings in particular. Having some minor GI issues, but nothing that should keep me sidelined for too too long. Going to talk to the doctors regardless. I may have also gone a little overboard with the mozzarella sticks, but I took my cheese drug, so we're not sure what the problem is there. Again, the doctors will give you a complete report later in the week, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was the wings.

The time is yours.

How did it feel to watch the Eagles advance to the first Super Bowl of your adult life?

TKITC: Well, I mean, obviously [smiling], it feels pretty good. Pretty good. I still haven't achieved my ultimate goal, which is to watch the Eagles win a Super Bowl, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this. Especially in the context of the past three years. You know, we've tried different things in the past. Watched from the basement for the St. Louis game [2001]. Didn't work. Went to the Tampa game [2002], and you all remember how that went. Tried the basement again for Carolina [2003], and just felt like [pause] we really needed to try something different this time. So we went to the bar around the corner. And despite the fact that we'd lost the Pittsburgh game there earlier in the year, it's tough to argue with its mojo now.

Can you talk a little bit about your strategy going into the game?

TKITC: I think it all really started with preparation. I knew I was going to be nervous before the game. Jittery. But I was hungry from eating a light dinner the night before. At the same time, I knew that I just had to take what the defense was giving me and stay within myself. So my plan was that I would do some buffalo wings [as part of the much ballyhooed "Two Pitchers and Free Wings Special" at the local bar] and sip on a beer and see how things went. Also I had a bloody mary. But I didn't do the full brunch or a burger or anything -- I needed to be flexible for a big feeding at the end of the game.

That's very interesting. All season long, you've been known as an excellent third-quarter fan. Can you talk about the adjustments you made at halftime that may have impacted your performance in the second half?

TKITC: Well. Yeah. Yeah. [Pause.] We knew it was going to be important to manage the wing specials properly. We lost track of the wings in the second quarter, we just thought it was important to go on the record with more wings, especially since our group swelled to about nine people by the second half. We needed the wings. We did. So we pounced on the pitchers, pounced on the beer, and it really started to work for us.

Can you give us some insight into how you approached the matchups in the game? Specifically containing Michael Vick?

TKITC: Very early on, it became apparent that the Falcons were running my offense from the 2000 version of NFL Blitz. That is, roll the quarterback to one side of the field, look for a quick option pass to the opposite side, and if it's not there, try to take off running. The key is running everything through the QB, and not being afraid to run. Obviously, the Eagles must have exchanged gameplans with my roommate, because they did a great job bottling that up.

Can you talk a little bit about the fans who were sitting in the corner? The ones who were rooting for Atlanta?

TKITC: You know [chuckling], it's funny. On the way to the bar, we passed an older gentleman who definitely stared at us. And it really got to me. It did. But then I thought, "He's just an old guy. Probably just curious about why these people were wearing so many officially licensed NFL products at this hour in the snow. Probably didn't even know there was a game on." So when I sat down at the bar, I scribbled a little memo to myself in my notebook that said "No one is looking at you funny." And that really stuck for me. [Pause. Very serious.] It did. So every time those guys in the corner would cheer, I would just look down at my notebook and circle those words. Again and again. It was very important for me to remain composed and not start a fight with a stranger over our conflicting professional football allegiances. It would have only hurt the team. We couldn't afford a dumb penalty like that.

We noticed that some of you got pretty choked up during the post-game celebration. How was that for you?

TKITC: It's a very emotional moment. It is. And when you see someone like Donovan McNabb crying -- though he later denied it like a nine-year-old boy who didn't want his friends to know he'd been bawling -- it really moves you. It does. That's all I'll say about that.

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but have you thought at all about your opponent in the Super Bowl, the Patriots?

TKITC: We got a chance to see a lot of that game, and the Patriots are a great team. They are. But what stuck out for me was Deion Branch. HUGE game for Branch. Huge. He caught deep balls, he ran the ball -- just devastating. And I thought, this was the player that I thought I was getting when I drafted him in three fantasy leagues last August. But no, Belichick buried him on the injury list all year, and never really even told us what was wrong with him [shaking his head]. I mean, that's just total crap -- I ended up playing some just horrendous guys at receiver because of that. Guys like [discount MIN WR] Kelly Campbell and one of those random dudes on Jacksonville [Troy Edwards]. So it goes without saying that I'm looking for some payback in the Super Bowl.

Finally, speaking of the Super Bowl, any chance we'll see you in Jacksonville?

TKITC: [laughing] We'll have to see. We'll have to see. $2200 is a lot of money for a ticket, you know, but stranger things have happened. I mean, the you-know-whos actually won the World Series, so who knows.

Posted by thatkid at January 24, 2005 9:55 PM under Sports

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