Sean Walsh with his daughter. Photo submitted by Sean Walsh.
Super Bowl LII was a very controversial event at Malden High School, due to the fact that most of the students and staff are New England Patriots fans. But, there are also people that are either Eagles fans or simply don’t like the Patriots, in the Malden community.
English Teacher Sean Walsh here at Malden High, who grew up in Philadelphia, has been an Eagles fan for almost his entire life. He “grew up liking baseball more than football”, but “[football was so] immersed in the Eagles culture [in Philadelphia]”. It became a ritual for him to watch the Eagles game every Sunday.
Walsh explained that “in Philadelphia, [they did not] assume [they] would win, because [they] do not have the history of winning”. Although, he was very optimistic and had faith in the Eagles players.
Walsh said that “[he] was nervous [in the fourth quarter]”, unsure of what would happen during the fourth quarter. When the Eagles won, tears filled Walsh’s eyes, as his hometown team had finally won Super Bowl after a 58 year period.
This Super Bowl victory was their first championship since 1960, and their first time at Super Bowl since 2004.
Pathways English teacher Allen Phelps mentioned that “it [was time for another team] to win, the Patriots have been a dynasty for 15 years”, so he was happy with the Eagles’ win against the Patriots.
When he found out the Patriots and the Eagles were going against each other in the Super Bowl, “[he] wished both teams could lose”. Phelps said he was never really a Patriots fan, mentioning that his favorite NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys. Phelps went further to explain that he didn’t like the Philadelphia Eagles simply because they were in the same division as the Cowboys.
Both Walsh and Phelps agreed that the Patriots were an easy team to dislike. Walsh stated that “the [Patriots] have an arrogant coach [and an] aloof quarterback”.
Phelps also argued that Tom Brady’s position as G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time) is debatable. He further explained that the official NFL rules today are way different from the rules in the past; that in the past, some players played through their injuries and how many violent encounters are flagged today.
