Heartbreak City, Say It Aint So

Tilting your head isn't going to help once you've
already kicked the ball.  

To preface this article I would first like to point out that this isn't really an article.  I'm not going to proof read it or spell check it, what's the point?  When your sports world is crumbling around you and the teams you love are giving up leads left and right, who cares about an article with proper grammar?  Let's begin our recap of yesterday with the Birds crushing defeat to the 49ers.

Right from the get go I could tell that the Eagles didn't come to play their best.  On the first play of the game, Vick tossed one up to Desean, and D-Jack couldn't find a way to reel in the long throw.  Although the ball was clearly under thrown, Desean could have and should have made a play on the ball.  The early miscue really set the stage for the rest of the game.  From there the Eagles attacked through the air and Vick came up with some big plays including a near sack that he turned into a touchdown pass to Clay Harbor.  The Eagles continued to use the long ball to make their way down the field, and aside from a few big plays, the defense was holding their ground.  With the help of a blocked punt and a few forced turn overs, the Eagles held on to a pretty comfortable 20-3 halftime lead.  But in the second half the wheels started to fall off.  The defense showed glaring holes and the secondary forgot how to tackle and quickly it became a 23-17 game.  Rookie kicker Alex Henery missed two field goals and after Jeremy Maclin fumbled in the fourth and the game ended, the 49ers winning by a final of 24-23. 

I sat staring at the TV absolutely stunned.  Even though the Eagles weren't playing great you still assumed that they were going to scratch out a victory.  I really thought that Vick's magical touchdown pass to Clay Harbor in which he made 2 guys foolishly miss was going to be the turning point of the entire season.  The offense would start clicking on all cylinders and things were going to get better.  The fact that they lost after what I thought was the turning point was a crushing blow to say the least.  The only thing that gave me any comfort was the fact that the Phillies were playing that night.

If you had told me that the Phillies would score 4 runs and lose with Cliff Lee pitching I would have slapped you in the face and called you a nut job.  The game got off to a quick start as the Phils piled on 3 runs in the first inning against Cardinals "ace" Chris Carpenter.  Ryan Howard hit a sharp ground ball off the mound that scored 2 runs.  Raul Ibanez then singled to score Hunter Pence.  It looked like it was going to be another easy relaxing Phillies playoff victory.  In the second inning the Phils took a commanding 4-0 lead thanks to a Hunter Pence single that scored Jimmy Rollins.  But in the fourth inning, just like earlier at Lincoln Financial Field, the wheels started to come off.  Cliff Lee gave up a surplus of singles in the inning and the Cardinals came within one run of the Phils.  Lee then allowed the tying run in the 6th and the go ahead run in the 7th.  Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa used about a million relievers and the Cardinals eventually won by a final of 5-4 and this series is now tied at 1.

Sorry about that buddy

I really thought after the first inning that the Phillies were going to sweep all the way through the playoffs.  They were going to sweep the Cardinals, sweep the Brew Crew, and sweep any unlucky opponent that made it out of the AL.

It really was a heart breaking day.  Not only did both teams lose but they lost in ugly fashions in which they surrendered the lead.  They built a sizable leads early and then foolishly sat on those leads hoping the defense would save them.  When the day finally ended at around mid night, I stumbled up to bed glad that the day was over.  I really think that it was one of the most crushing days in Philadelphia sports history.  The Phillies game wasn't all that detrimental as they are still very much alive in the series, but the Eagles loss was a crushing blow.  The Birds are now 1-3 and are fading fast in the NFC East.

Really not much more can be said about yesterday.  Feel free to comment and vent and let out any angers or frustrations you have.  Bonus points if you know the number of times the tbs announcers said the "It sucks to be a Philadelphian, the Eagles and Phillies both lost."