Magical ride ends, but Eagles memories remain

Poof! And just like that the magic has ended.

The Eagles lost to the Saints Sunday night, 20-14.

The end came just as it appeared Nick Foles – the Magic Man himself – might have one more sleight-ofhand up his sleeve, leading the Eagles down the field toward another heart-in-your throat, last-second victory.

It wasn’t to be. A Foles pass went right through the hands of wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, and into the hands of a Saints defensive back. Game, set and match. There will be no Super Bowl repeat.

Actually, if they were honest, most fans would tell you they never expected to be here in the first place.

Call it the Super Bowl hangover, blame it on a rash of injuries, whatever.

The Eagles struggled early in the season and hit bottom on Nov. 18, in the very same place where their season ended Sunday.

The Birds lost to the Saints in embarrassing fashion, getting blown out, 48-7. It was the worst defeat ever suffered by a defending Super Bowl champion. Things would get worse. Starting quarterback Carson Wentz, the face and future of the franchise, would suffer a stress fracture in his back and would not play again after the Birds fell to the hated Cowboys in a Sunday night prime-time affair. Enter the Magic Man. Nick Foles, hero of the Super Bowl and the immortal “Philly Philly” gadget play in which he caught a touchdown pass from tight end Trey Burton, was thrust back into the limelight.

Foles promptly started writing a most unlikely sequel.

He led the Birds to three straight wins to close out the regular season and – with a little help from the Bears – got the Eagles back in the playoffs. Then they upset those same Bears.

On to New Orleans where Foles and the Eagles raced out to a 14-0 first quarter lead against the team that many considered the best in the NFL.

But magic, especially the kind created by sports teams, is an ephemeral thing. Even for Nick Foles.

Suddenly the Eagles offense stalled. They did not score a point after racing out to that 14-0 lead.

At its best – even in the sports-crazed Philadelphia region – sports is a diversion.

It’s a place we go to forget other things in our life, at least for a few hours.

It allows us to salve the wounds of our everyday lives, to put really important things like a government shutdown out of our minds for awhile.

One of the best things about a Super Bowl run is that it fills a big chunk of the gaping void that tends to consume us after the holidays.

The new year brings with it the realization of the 90 days of drudgery that follow. It is cold, it is dark.

And we are harangued seemingly daily by TV forecasters thrilled to inform us of the next possible snow storm.

Last winter we rode the warmth exuding from the Eagles all the way to a parade to end all parades in early February.

The Eagles have won exactly one Super Bowl championship in the team’s history. They’ve been to three.

No doubt the Eagles team that assembles in South Philly next July will look different than the one we last saw in the Superdome Sunday night.

Most people believe Nick Foles will be elsewhere. He is a free agent and can command a huge contract, based on his Super Bowl MVP status and once again nearly rallying the Eagles to a return engagement this year.

Before he goes, we join those offering Foles a simple thank you.

Most people believed the Eagles’ season was over last year when starting QB Carson Wentz’s knee crumpled while crashing into the end zone in Los Angeles. Enter the Magic Man. Incredulously, the Eagles turned once again to Foles this year.

And once again he delivered.

We thank Foles, and the Eagles, for another memorable ride.

The magic may be done, but the memories are not. What’s next? Have the Phillies signed Bryce Harper yet?