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Last fall, right after I watched highlights of the Astros Game-7 victory over the Yankees in the ALCS, I scrolled down to read the comments.
Since this was on YouTube, like everywhere else on the Internet, a bastion of civility, one of the first comments came from a Yankees fan, who said something to the effect of, "Whatever, 27 World Series!"
I had to chuckle to myself, because I knew at that very moment no Astros fan was going to read that remark and feel bad that his or her team had yet to win a World Series and was only going to be playing in its second one ever.
Fast-forward to Monday morning and the many remarks I read on Facebook following the Eagles exciting 41-33 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII on Sunday night.
Naturally, a familiar refrain from New England fans was something to the effect of, "Whatever, we still got five rings!"
Many of these same Patriots fans also went on to predict the Eagles won't make it back to the Super Bowl next year, while their team most-likely would.
Again, I had to laugh.
I mean, the City of Philadelphia hadn't experienced an NFL Championship since 1960—forget the fact that it was the town's first Super Bowl title. Did those Pats fans really think they were going to scar the Eagles' faithful by throwing those five rings in their faces?
I was also quite amused (or rather bemused) by the meme of the Steelers six Lombardi trophies vs. the Eagles lone, albeit newly minted, trophy that I saw floating around social media.
Why do fans feel the need to do this? Obviously, that was a rhetorical question, because I know why.
People do it because, for one, it's a defense mechanism and a way to cope—especially if your team just lost to their team. And for two, you think you're hurting the fan base of the team with the lesser amount of titles.
That second reason might actually work, but only in arguments that occur years later.
Championships and the trappings that come along with them are all about the "now," and the feelings you get as a fan when your team is the most recent to exclaim "We're No. 1!"
If it was all about the number of championships, Steelers fans would be the ones feeling euphoric right now, especially after New England failed to tie Pittsburgh for the most Lombardi trophies at six.
In a sense, it was as if Steelers fans won something Sunday night, since they got to retain the pride of knowing their team still has the most Super Bowl victories in the history of the spectacle. When it comes to that, we actually can effectively mock some deflated Patriots fans right now, because they'll be feeling the sting of Sunday night's loss for a while.
I gotta tell ya', though, that "Got six?" pride I'm feeling right now pales in comparison to what I'm sure Eagles fans are experiencing at the moment.
And that's why no amount of trash-talking is going to work against Philadelphia, at least not until the year 2047, when you can perhaps chant "2017!" over and over again in a mocking fashion.
As for right now, you might as well put the memes away, because Eagles fans are too busy being happy.