Before coming to Penn State, I considered myself an orphan. I never really fit in anywhere, and I didn't really have a family ... in terms of football, that is. I do not belong to the "Lives outside of Philly" club, nor do I belong with those residing in the Steel City. I simply do not belong to a football family.

You see, I am from this little town known as Baltimore. For those that are not aware, Baltimore is actually outside of Pennsylvania (yes, there is life outside of the Keystone State). For most of my life, we never had a football team. We lost the Colts a year before I was born, and it is a cardinal sin to cheer on the team now that they are in Indianapolis.

The Ravens came to town from Cleveland after the 1995 NFL season, and the whole city immediately entered a heavenly state where everything was finally perfect. Except for me. It seemed hypocritical to me, that a town crushed in the same manner just a little over a decade earlier would steal the Browns from their home and instantly fall in love with them. I had lived 13 years of my life without a professional football team, and the Ravens were too little, too late.

I grew up watching other people's football teams without strong ties to any of them. I liked the Packers, and still do to this day. There is something about Brett Favre that I simply cannot explain; however, if we were to just have one night together, I can tell you we would both have some explaining to do. Fantasies aside, I still did not pledge my undying allegiance to them.

The stolen Browns won over Baltimore, but they still were not mine. However when the Ravens made the playoffs during the 2000 season and beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, I will admit it was cool to experience the excitement of post-season football in my own backyard.

Fast forward to my first semester in the fall of 2002, when I was thrown into the mix of about 42,000 people. I did not know too much about Pennsylvania to begin with, and I knew even less about its two professional football teams, but I knew I had to learn something about these teams. I quickly picked up that fans of both teams live, eat, and breathe football.

My first encounter with a group of Steelers fans -- co-ed I mind you -- made me feel like I could never belong. I had not followed them since the exact second I became a fetus, therefore I would never be a "true" fan. I think it worked out well anyway; I find those towels terribly annoying, and their colors are not visually appealing at all. I didn't despise them, I just couldn't love them.

However, with a similar group of Eagles fans, each of them was eager to share with me just why they love their team so.

And it's sad to think that it's the Philly fans that are the nice ones. I knew instantly I could like these guys better than those steel people. And after hearing that catchy cheer a few times, I liked it. Check. Their fans are obviously smart; I mean it takes real talent to be able to consistently spell "Eagles" right, even when absolutely hammered.

I took personal offense to Rush Limbaugh's outrageous comments regarding Donovan McNabb the next fall. Like many others, I thought the racist undertone of Limbaugh's comments was completely out of line and unnecessary. When my quarterback's skills were questioned, it was then I realized how attached I had become. I stood up for McNabb, and since then we've been a match made in NFL heaven.

I came to Penn State a lost little freshman in the big scary world of Pennsylvania football. But the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans have taken me under their wings (pun intended), and now it is hard for me to remember life without them. I may not have grown up decked out in Jerome Brown jerseys, but I'm a fan now and that's all that matters.

And when they take on the Patriots next Sunday for all the marbles, you bet I'll be right next to the fans who remember the last time the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl.

When I go home I often get heckled for following the Eagles, but I simply do not care. The Colts were never mine, and the Ravens came into the picture a bit too late. I am truly a football orphan, but the city of Philadelphia has been kind enough to adopt me into its football family. After all, they are the smartest fans in football. Even when heavily intoxicated, they still know E-A-G-L-E-S spells Eagles.