Category: Reflections…

We’d been talking about it for weeks. Although none of us were Eagles or Patriots fans, like most Americans, it was all about the buildup. It was extremely rare that we watched a game during the regular NFL season. At most, we’d watch the last hour of NFL RedZone so the kids could see every touchdown of the day, in the order they happened, during the final wrap-up. Then, like clockwork, as the playoffs began winding down, everyone became football fans again and you could feel the excitement in the air.

The buildup to Super Bowl LII was no different. We watched two or three games during the playoffs and about halfway through January, started discussing plans for Super Bowl Sunday. Well, that was easy, we’d eat, eat, and eat some more. Hell, we’d eat before, during, and after the game. Everyone pitched ideas for what they’d like to have that day and the Super Bowl LII menu began to emerge. Suggestions included wings, calamari, ribs, nachos, chili, bread, veggies, dips, desserts, and wine. It all sounded good. No one really cared that we were considering such an absurd quantity of food for one, single day. It was the freakin’ Super Bowl, one of the only days we could get away with pretty much anything dietary, and by god we were going to eat!

My normal Sunday-cheat-day, ran and hid under the couch. I had warned everyone, I wasn’t planning to eat anything all morning. In actuality, I had a protein shake after my workout so I didn’t have much of an appetite when we arrived around 4:30. However, within 30 minutes, the Super Bowl bingeing had begun. We ended up having a turkey (for sandwiches – its leftovers are literally in our oven at this very moment in turkey pot pie form), a rack of ribs, calamari, two types of wings, brussel sprouts, tiramisu cake, chocolate cake, chocolate candy, Twizzlers in several flavors, coffee, and wine. A few items were overlooked simply because there was so much food on the table. Three days later, we were remembering things like the gouda cheese and the melon that were forgotten in the refrigerator. I’ve recovered for the most part but have noticed I’ve been craving non-vegan foods a bit more over the past few days. Clearly my body’s still trying to figure out what the hell invaded it last Sunday.

As for the Super Bowl itself, well, the kids were both on the Patriots bandwagon as we left the house. This came as no surprise since everything we’d heard over the past month was Tom Brady this and Tom Brady that. As a Raiders fan, I wasn’t really rooting for one team over the other. Like a lot of people, I wanted the Eagles to win because I was bored with the Patriots habit of winning Super Bowls. However, if forced to bet on the game, I would have put my money on the Patriots. Funny how that works.

What I really wanted, more than anything else, was for it to be an exciting game. It certainly had the makings for it. Between the Patriots powerhouse duo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and the relatively unknown Eagles quarterback-coach pair of Nick Foles and Doug Pederson, there was potential for a thrilling game. The fact that Nick Foles was the backup quarterback, who had only played a handful of games at the end of the season, added an additional element of unpredictability. About halfway through the first half, nearly everyone had jumped on the underdog’s bandwagon. They started to realize that not only were the Eagles controlling the game, they had a real shot at beating the Patriots. Needless to say, the game didn’t disappoint and kept us on the edge or our seats until the final whistle. It was surreal watching the Eagles make history by winning their first Super Bowl. Not only that, they did it by beating the seemingly unbeatable New England Patriots. That’s what I call a thrilling Super Bowl.

I’d been texting a friend of mine who also happened to be an Eagles fan throughout the game. He was nervous. Hell, I was nervous for him. After the game, I congratulated him. I was happy for him and other Eagles fans who, through thick and thin, had remained hardcore Eagles fans. For the first time, they don’t have to wonder if they’ll ever see the Eagles win a Super Bowl. Now, they can start wondering when they’ll win another one.

James

My transition from a Prince Georges County, Maryland resident to an Ocean County, New Jersey resident has been both an interesting and a learning experience. Now that I’ve lived in New Jersey for several months, I feel like I’m finally beginning to settle in to my new life here. The return to a small, rural town, has, in this case, also been a return to white America, and has unexpectedly brought with it a renewed awareness and a humbling appreciation for the cultural differences that still exist in many areas of our country today.

Prior to moving to New Jersey, I lived in Maryland for 22 years where I had become accustomed to living in an area where the majority of residents were not white and represented nearly every ethnicity and nationality. I spent all 22 of those years living between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. where most of my neighbors, acquaintances, and coworkers were minorities. While living in the cultural melting pot of the Baltimore / D.C. area for the past two decades enhanced my understanding of diversity, it’s become evident that it also suppressed my awareness of what day-to-day life is like in predominantly white areas. I grew up in a small, rural, and predominantly white area of Kentucky, so life in white America isn’t foreign to me. That is also what makes this renewed awareness all the more surprising; I know first-hand what it’s like to live in a predominantly white, American town.

When I first moved to New Jersey, it felt awkward every time I found myself actually noticing minorities in this new, yet old and familiar, monochromatic America. I noticed things like the one, black player on a basketball team, the all-white participants in most events and activities, the unfamiliar local jargon, the different types of restaurants and establishments, and the relative absence of diversity in general, compared to what I was used to. Although I had no reason to feel that way, it initially made me uncomfortable and felt similar to guilt. How could I have forgotten what it was like to live in white America? It was as if my brain was telling me, “Ah ha, you do remember things are different here.”

I consciously think about race and diversity more now. I haven’t lived here very long but I’m sure there’s much more to be learned from this experience and as I mentioned before, my move from the ethnically diverse Prince Georges County, Maryland to Ocean County, New Jersey, has undoubtedly provided me with a renewed awareness and appreciation for America’s cultural diversity and for that I’m grateful.

For more information, see: Race & Ethnicity in: Prince Georges County, Maryland and Ocean County, New Jersey.

James