The Sport I Grew to Love
Written by: Kiah Thorne
When football season arrives, Kiah goes all in on watching not only every Eagles game but every football game. She wasn’t always like this; she grew to love the sport for her family.
Thursday, September 8th, 2022; some may view it as just a typical Thursday during the first official week of September. But for football fans like me, it is the first game of the 2022 NFL season. For 18 glorious weeks, while homework and classes consume my days, I spend my free time glued to my phone watching football games. And as the 2023 NFL season ends, I reflect on the time that led me to where I am today as the passionate Eagles fan that annoys my twin sister.
Shockingly, I have only been a football fan for over six years. Growing up in a football household, I did not see the appeal of watching a group of men fight over a ball. During the holidays, my twin sister and I would go over to my Dad’s side of the family, arriving late like always and hearing the screams before we even reached the front door. Hearing them yell and argue over every aspect of the game, from the referees to the opposing teams, heck, even down to our players, was not appealing to young Kiah. And they would use vulgar language when the plays do not go in the team’s favor that no child should hear. Luckily all the kids moved to the basement. Still, they did not understand that 1 - children can hear, and 2 – they cannot stay in one area.
I watch football as passionately as I do because of my Dad. My Dad was my best friend, and we did EVERYTHING together. He took me to my endless doctor’s appointments and grabbed McDonald’s to bring back to school for lunch. When I had nightmares or experienced bullying in school, I went straight to him for comfort. So, it wasn’t surprising that I would be with him watching football on Sunday. I would watch him watch his favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, for hours, just waiting for the year they would win their first Super Bowl. Sadly, he passed away just a season before they did just that.
Through my grieving, I needed to do something that made me feel like he was still there, so I focused my attention on the team he loved so much. And I went CRAZY! I dove headfirst even though I had no clue what I was diving into. I barely knew anything about football, yet I was so confident during class to talk about how certain I was the Eagles would make it to the Super Bowl and win their first Super Bowl trophy and ring, even though they were the underdogs. And did I prove them wrong? YES! YES, I DID! If there was any year to be confident, that year, 2017, was the year.
Watching the Eagles that season brought me closer to my Dad and my family. During this time in my life, I could not stand everyone. I was angry at the world for taking my father away and upset at my family for moving on so quickly. I got into many arguments with my family, especially my older sister. Still, the one thing that brought us together was the Eagles. We loved watching the games together. If we weren’t together, we texted in the sisters’ group chat, commenting about everything happening in the game. Throw in Eagles’ praise with a little Cowboys smack talk then you have our group chat. No matter how frustrated we were at each other, we tolerated each other for one day to even as many as several days out of the week. She got me the number 86 shirt for Christmas because Ertz was my favorite Eagles player.
We watched and cheered every game leading up to the Super Bowl. I remember vividly the day the Eagles played against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl 52. My sister and I were so nervous watching the game. They were playing against a team that had been to the Super Bowl and won several times before. We jumped up and down every time they scored a touchdown, screaming our lungs away, especially during the infamous Philly Special. And when they officially won the game, we were so happy. I lost my voice from all the screaming. I could hear the cheers from people outside from the victory. And by usual Philadelphia fans’ standard, they grouped to celebrate by climbing poles and damaging property. Sadly, I couldn’t go, but I felt like I was there by watching through my friends’ Snapchat stories.
I was super excited to be able to attend my first Super Bowl parade. Even though it was during a school day, I felt we could go with my mom on vacation and my older sister watching my sister and I. Boy, was I wrong. My mom was adamant we could not miss a school day even though we tried to tell her no one would be there. So, on Thursday, February 8th, I drove my unhappy butt to school. And you want to know what I did all day? NOTHING! The halls were EMPTY! I swear you could see one of those tumbleweeds pass by. That’s how vacant it was in my school. There were barely any students; even the teachers were in Philly. So, I went from class to class just watching the parade travel from Broad Street to the Philadelphia Art Museum when I could have just BEEN THERE! And when my sister and I got home, my older sister had the NERVE to say, “Oh, you know you guys didn’t have to go to school today.”
Even though I was not pleased to miss this important event in football, I was happy. My Dad passed away in August, just before the 2017 season, and this win felt like it was from him. This win was the last thing he wanted to give me as a parting gift. And from that day on, I have watched the Eagles and every NFL game. It got to the point where my annoyed twin sister told me I should become a referee. My journey as a football fan may have been short and emotional, but I am happy to have gone through it to be one. I still have a long way to go because I have not attended my first Eagles game. Don’t judge me; tickets are expensive!