Eagles, 76ers, Phillies, Nittany Lions or Bears, Bulls, Cubs, Jayhawks, Huskers

Monday night while flipping through the TV channels to see what we can get in Philly, I came across the Steelers vs. Eagles preseason game. As I was watching the game Rachel comes in and asks out of nowhere whether or not we are going to start rooting for the Philly sports teams. I really did not know what to say. We want to be apart of the community as much as we can but does that mean that we have to take on a love for Philly sports?

I am not sure and haven't really come up with an answer yet. A good friend of mine has a beautiful way of describing his reasons for supporting the teams that he does. I haven't formulated that much yet but am eager to work through my situation. Here is a little of my background history of sports teams that I pull for (if you have any advice on the issue, I am open).

Let me start off with the team that I allign myself with the most. The Kansas Jayhawks are my team in college basketball. I am not from Kansas but my mom is and all my life I have travelled to Kansas for holidays and such and a lot of my cousins/uncles pull for KU. It was easy to begin following because they are a likeable basketball tradition who normally have pretty good success(well, at least until March Madness). Next comes college football. KU has a football program but most people don't know that it exists or at least they don't like to admit it, so KU football was out of the question. I guess I pulled a little for Penn St. because that was who my dad liked and I was born in PA but I didn't really have any ties to the university or their football program. Last year a good friend of mine got me excited about the Badgers and filled me in on possibly everything that I needed to know in order to become a fan. Because of that I will pull for UW but I don't think I can become a fan. I married a girl from Nebraska so I guess you can say that I am unofficially a Husker fan now. This was hard for me because I remember years ago when PSU had Kerry Collins and Kijana Carter and went undefeated through the regular season and had to split the National Title with the Huskers, who I am convinced would've been drummed by PSU had they played eachother in the Bowl game. I think PSU had Oregon or somebody like that in the Rose Bowl and Nebraska played somebody for the National Championship game. (this was all before the BCS stuff) But I am over that now, and can pull for the Huskers, especially when they play USC on Sept. 15 in Lincoln. Anyway, I digress...so now to the NFL. If there is one team in Philly that I won't root for it is going to be the Eagles. For some reason they just get under my skin and I cannot pull for them. The Bears will have to win out for this league. MLB --Growing up most of my life in IL it was easy to become a Cubs fan. I was accustomed to watching the games on WGN and really followed them even during the cellar years of the 90's. Once 2000 rolled around and it became cool to be a Cubs fan and people flocked to Wrigley more for the atmosphere and the beer than the team, I started to lose my allegiance to the loveable losers. I still pull for them but I think that I can follow a team like the Phillies. They don't really have a superstar player, just a bunch of guys that are scrappy and play hard. I like that in a baseball team, which is why it is easy for me to also root for the Brewers, Indians, Twins...NBA -- Well, I don't know if I can really have a favorite NBA team because I am so disgusted with how things are in the NBA...but, because I am immersed in the African American culture I need to at least know a little bit about it. Da Bulls would be my team because of their philosophy of team ball and defense. The Sixers, however, are in the process of getting rid of their stars and focusing on the young guys. I think I can at least root for them for that fact, but they won't be any good. NHL -- well, go Ducks coached by Emilio Estevez. That was as much as I ever got into hockey, (they should have left it at 2nd movie. The 3rd movie was horrible). Well, I think that is all as far as sports teams go. Oh yeah, the Barrage is Philly's pro lacrosse team but I know absolutely nothing about lacrosse, except that it is a east coast ivy league sport.

Anyway, as was mentioned earlier, I could use all the help as far as advising me for which teams I should root for. The hard thing about Philadelphia is that the city has the longest drought without seeing or experiencing a Championship in any major sport. Regardless of which team I pull for in Philly, it doesn't bode well for rooting for a winner.

A Welcome to the Block

Last Tuesday Rachel and I moved all of our stuff into our new apartment in Philly. With a lot of help from my parents and my cousin we knocked it out in less than an hour. We needed to provide our own refridgerator (i know, weird) but my uncle found one at his dad's house that nobody was using. A free fridge sounds real good. After unloading everything we save the fridge for last only to realize that as we are carrying it to the doorway it was going to be way too big and would no way fit through the doorway. Bummer! Back in the truck it went and Rachel and I went about 3 days before we found another one that would fit. This one would set us back $60 but that is no big deal.

Also, we come to find out on Friday that our block is having a 'block party' on Saturday. What a great way to meet our new neighbors. All day Friday there were signs posted that we needed to move our cars on Saturday for street cleaning. Street cleaning in Chicago is very different than street cleaning in southwest Philly. I got up at about 7:50 to move our car and our neighbor, who was the 'block party coordinator' says, "wow, I'm so glad your up because nobody else is here to help street clean". It was then that I noticed the garbage bags and the big shop brooms that were to be used to sweep the street. After going in and putting on some better shoes I got back out there and cleaned our block. It was a good time though because I was able to meet some other guys who live on the block and who eventually came out to help. The party got going about 3:00 p.m. so Rachel and I went out and tried to be social. Block parties in southwest Philly is just another way of basically inviting all your friends and family who live elsewhere to come by and BBQ in the street with loud music. Nobody from the block really interacts with eachother. They just hang out with their own friends and family. It turned out not to even be a valuable time of meeting neighbors because everybody that we met didn't even live on the block. Oh well, I guess we will just chalk that up as one of our different cultural experiences.

We are however, real excited about our block and the opportunity that we have to simply be a neighbor.

In West Philadelphia born and raised.....

Well, earlier this week my wife and I packed up our Focus and drove across the country to the city of brotherly love. Awaiting us was a mattress on the floor at my aunt and uncles house in the burbs. Rachel and I spent two full days apartment searching, viewing, and contacting. We were getting discouraged after every apartment we looked at was either too expensive, too big (for 2 people anyway), or just too unliveable for a young married couple. This afternoon however was one of those beautiful moments where God reveals Himself in a very big way and we just simply have to step back, humble ourselves for our attitudes and frustrations, and then say: "wow God, you really do have a plan and you really are in control" As if my circumstances would determine that anyway. Man, I am so fickle at times and can totally see myself as being close friends with the disciples, who were constantly being challenged in their faith. Our last apartment viewing of the evening was the one that Rachel and I knew from the very beginning that this would be the place that we would call home in Philadelphia. It was the right size, the right price, and the right location. It is just a couple blocks from the school that Rachel will be teaching at and our landlord said that the neighborhood is very community focused. After we put down our deposit and began our trek back to the burbs, Rachel and I were filling I-95 with the praise of YHWH.

For those of you who may be wondering, I'm quite sure that it's not where the Fresh Prince exactly came from, but it is in West Philadelphia.

Philly Bound

It has been a long time since I have posted but for those who are still reading, Rachel and I will be moving out east to the Philly pad in about a week or so. When we get settled and situated we will tell all about our new place in the city of brotherly love.