Sports fandom, much like marriage — at least for some — is ’til death do us part.
When sports fans latch onto a team, no matter what the sport and no matter what the reason, they will stick with that team through thick and thin, in good times and bad.
Case in point, I fell in love with the Miami Dolphins in the early 1980s with the emergence of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. He’s long since retired, and they haven’t won a championship in my lifetime, yet I still root for the Dolphins.
Which brings me to a man named Jeffrey Clayton Riegel, a 56-year-old from Port Republic, N.J.
Before he succumbed to cancer, the Philadelphia Eagles’ season ticket holder for more than 30 years promised to include a funny message in his obituary.
His wife of 29 years, Donna Lee Riegel, and her sister, Dee Kaufman, wrote his obit that appeared in the Atlantic City Press.
The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl, and Jeffrey’s wife suggested at one point that maybe her husband should switch sides and cheer for another team.
His response, “I just can’t.” As a fellow sports nut, I can sympathize with him.
In Riegel’s obituary, he wanted “to have 8 Philadelphia Eagles as pall bearers so the Eagles can let him down one last time.” Classic line.
He did go out on a high, passing away after watching the Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills 20-16 in the pre-season.
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