Schadenfreude

The last couple of days, I've been under the weather. Sore throat, runny nose, congestion, mild fever. You know, the regular stuff. I posted my status on facebook as "Russell is still sick." Today, I thought about posting, "I am feeling schadenfreude." But I was afraid someone would reply, "Is it contagious?"

No, schadenfreude is a German word which basically means having a feeling of joy at someone else misfortune. It's not generally a positive feeling to have. I mean, what kind of jerk enjoys it when bad things happens to others? However, tonight, I am feeling a great deal of joy at the misfortune of Philadelphia Eagles' fans. They lost their forth NFC championship game in their last five tries.

Admittedly, the Eagles have an enviable record. In the last ten years since the arrival of Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid, the Eagles have made the playoffs seven times, the NFC championship five times (three of which they played at home), and the Super Bowl once (which they lost to the Patriots). But it must really suck to get to the NFC championship, be favored, and just know in your heart of hearts that your team is not going to have whatever it takes to cross that threshold.

Now, honestly, I would gladly trade the Cowboys' recent history for the Eagles. These two teams played a winner take all game just three weeks ago and the Cowboys didn't even bother to show up. But at the end of the day, let's take a quick look at the trophy case: Five to nothing. So, Eagles fans: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.