Philly fans pin hopes on Eagles

Nineteen eighty-three.

It’s a year that has special significance for me — mostly stemming from May 31, three days short of two months before I was born.

On that day, Julius Erving, Moses Malone and the “fo, fo, fo” Philadelphia 76ers finished off a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, earning an NBA title.

The championship was the city’s fifth since 1967 — and the second for the Sixers in that stretch.

The “Broad Street Bully” Flyers won two titles in the 1970s. Even the Phillies, the team with the worst record of any team in any sport in the 20th century, managed to win a World Series in 1980.

Since then, however, nothing. Zip. Nada.

So you can forgive me if I was feeling more than a little anxious heading into Sunday’s NFC Championship game. Would Warrick Dunn become inaugurated into the Philly Hall of Woe? I thought there might have been a spot for him available between Joe Carter and Joe Jurevicius.

I assumed my position on the couch — same place, same food, same outfit as last week’s divisional win against Minnesota. It also happened to be the same outfit that I donned for the last three NFC Championship clashes — but fourth time’s a charm, right?

My angst failed to subside after the Falcons stopped the Eagles’ attempted fake field goal, but the Birds’ defense held, and it’s possible that my yell after Dorsey Levens powered for a second-effort touchdown was heard throughout the 27514 zip code.

Despite the fact that the Eagles had taken their biggest conference championship game lead since the first quarter against Tampa Bay two years ago, it seemed that the Falcons had the advantage.

After all, according to the always brilliant announcing trio of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth, the determining factor in the game was going to be the wind.

And since the Falcons were set to gain the wind at their backs in the second quarter, it appeared that all the Eagles could do was hold on for dear life during the forthcoming Falcon onslaught.

Apparently, then, Philly’s second-quarter effort was nothing short of a miracle against the most brutal of human elements. The Eagles entered halftime with a 14-10 lead, and the margin grew to 20-10 after a sloppy offensive third quarter.

For most fans, a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter would give cause to relax.

But Philly has not only suffered through the agonizing failures of NFC championship games past but also two of the most memorable chokes in sports history.

The Flyers squandered a three-games-to-one lead to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000 just as it seemed that they had conquered their longtime nemesis. And I have long heard the lore of the 1964 Phillies blowing a 6-game lead with 12 games remaining, a collapse that people still hesitate to bring up in normal conversation.

Somehow, though, this was different. The Eagles’ defense curtailed Atlanta’s running attack, and I, along with the 67,717 fans at Lincoln Financial Field and millions more elsewhere, could finally exhale and celebrate.

Maybe this year will be different. Maybe fans will remember 2005 instead of 1983 or 1960, the year the Eagles last won the NFL Championship.

Regardless of what happens Feb. 6 in the Super Bowl, I will always remember the day the Eagles finally reached the Super Bowl.

Bring on the Patriots. What else do Philadelphia fans have to lose?

Contact Jacob Karabell at karabell@email.unc.edu.