Oh boy oh boy

We all know the Saints are good. Honestly, I, and I think most people, were pulling for them all season to do well. And yes, they played the Eagles during the regular season and won.

But let's stop for a second here. First off, they did play in the mediocre at best NFC South, right? The Panthers? The Falcons? The BUCS? Alright now.

Secondly, although they beat the Eagles earlier in the season, did everyone forget how it went down? If i'm not mistaken, the Birds came back from a 17 point deficit to take the lead, only to blow it on a last second field goal.

So I'm not advocating that ESPN and the like favor the Eagles in this game or anything, but come on. Give them a little credit.

Stressful, indeed.

While I was quite optimistic about Sunday's contest against the Giants, the questions for myself related not to who was going to win, but to whether or not I was going to go to the game.

I've only been to two Eagles games, both against the stinking Redskins. One in Landover, MD a few years ago, where I was able to scalp a ticket for less than face value (stick that in your pipes and smoke it you fairweather Skins fans). The other game was on New Years last year with Hal in Philly, and we lost. However, we were the last two Eagles fans in the Linc, as all the Skins fans stayed late to celebrate with the players who had just clinched a playoff spot. Hal and myself booed them all vociferously.

So, before this weekend's game, I had a few options for a ticket. The only realistic one had me paying $300 for a decent endzone seat. On the surface, 300 bucks is a lot of money for a football game. However, it is the Eagles. It is the playoffs. And it's the Giants. (Other possible considerations include: A) Tom Coughlin spontaneously combusting on the sideline. B) Tiki Barber's last game ever. C) Jeff Garcia coming out of the closet, thereby allowing me to rub the fact that the Giants got beat by a gay QB in the face of Giants fans everywhere.)

However, in my experience, while sitting real close to the field at a football game is exciting, you typically can't see a damn thing. Clearly, you get a much better feel for the game watching it on TV or from a higher, more affordable seat. Also, I just got back from 3 previous weeks of vacation, one in Virginia, one on a road trip, and one in Las Vegas. Money was not flowing like wine, water, or what have you.

Point is, I didn't go. I watched the game at the bar where I work, and it was obviously completely awesome. You all saw it. The Eagles beat the crap out of them all game, and then made it just interesting enough at the end for us to call it an incredible game. Perhaps the best moment came in the picture that I posted above.

So, the question is this: how do you quantify the value of a sporting event like this? I clearly couldn't afford the game, but if I had spent the money and gone, I wouldn't be in debt for the rest of my life either. I'm totally perplexed, wishing I had gone, and wishing that I could just get the damn season tickets already that I've been on the waiting list for for years.