Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football, and PhillyBorn and raised in Eagles country, Tom McAllister learns from his father and brother the rules of being a football fan. Spending Sundays in the infamous 700 level of Veterans Stadium, or sitting in front of the TV with his father in a nearby recliner, Tom sees both the ugly and beautiful sides of Philadelphia football. Like all true Philadelphians, he connects with the players. From icons Chuck Bednarik and Steve Van Buren to modern-day greats Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, and Brian Dawkins and controversial stars such as Terrell Owens, the Eagles players become a part of McAllister’s life. Watching them every Sunday, he tries to develop his own identity as a fan. Torn between his father’s calm and levelheaded fandom and the rowdy, profane, and violent crowds of Philadelphia legend, Tom struggles to achieve balance. As a rabid Eagles fan, Tom McAllister experiences plenty of defeats and disappointments, but his biggest challenge is coping with the premature loss of his father to cancer. In Bury Me in My Jersey, McAllister explores the connection between his dedication to the Eagles and the death of his father. He details the intense bonds—between fathers and sons, among friends, and even between a city and its football team—and chronicles the joys and sorrows, victories and failures, of a lifetime of sports obsession. Any fan can relate: Tom drinks to excess, spends countless hours every week posting to an online Eagles message board, and spies on players in the fruit aisle of the supermarket. Without the example of his father to guide him, Tom often finds himself stumbling off track. But it is his girlfriend and eventual wife, LauraBeth, who keeps him grounded as he matures into adulthood. A touching, funny, beautifully crafted memoir, Bury Me in My Jersey is not only a marvelous tribute to a father, a way of life, and a team and its devoted followers but also a love letter to the city of Philadelphia. |
Contents
| 3 | |
CHAPTER THREE LIFE ON THE SIDELINES | 22 |
CHAPTER FOUR BEST OF PHILLY | 36 |
CHAPTER FIVE DEATH AND REBIRTH | 65 |
CHAPTER SEVEN FOR WHO? FOR WHAT? | 98 |
98 | 124 |
CHAPTER EIGHT LONGDISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS | 133 |
CHAPTER NINE GIVE ME SOME RESPECT | 154 |
CHAPTER TEN ITS JUST A GAME | 174 |
CHAPTER ELEVEN RECONCILIATION | 199 |
CHAPTER TWELVE THIS FUCKING GAME IS OVER | 221 |
Common terms and phrases
asked ball Bednarik beer Beth Big Kev Brett Favre Brian Dawkins called championship chant cheesesteaks Chiefs fans couple Cowboys crowd D'Alessandro's Dad's Damon Moore Dawkins defense drinking drunk Eagles fans Eagles game everything fandom Fat Stuff feel felt field goal fight Fitz football Frank Conroy friends fucking girls gles hated high school Iowa City Jerome Brown jersey Jevon Kearse jokes Kevin kicked kids knew later laughed Laura LauraBeth looked loved McNabb minutes Monday Night Football moved needed never night Philly players playoff quarterback Reggie White Salle score season seemed Sheldon Brown sleep someone spent stadium stop story Super Bowl sure Swanson talk tell Terrell Owens thing thought tickets told took touchdown trying turned waiting walked watch wearing wedding week writing