BY SAMANTHA MANCUSO // Feb. 2, 2018 //

There is no lie that New England bleeds red, white and blue. There’s a winning culture here, and no one is shy about it.

As I walked from Bell Hall to the quad in early September, almost everyone was wearing their championship pride. The Patriots were entering the season coming off the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

If it wasn’t a jersey it was a hat. If it wasn’t a hat, it was a variation of shirts. 28-3, Goodell with the clown nose, and of course the official Super Bowl LI Champions shirt. And then there was me. Walking to class in midnight green.

I was born and raised in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, eight miles from the city of Philadelphia. I have been bleeding green all my life along with the rest of my family.

I’ve seen all the good and the bad in the Donovan McNabb/Andy Reid era. I was in Center City, Philadelphia the day the Eagles signed Michael Vick right out of jail. And obviously, I was there for the disaster that was The Chip Kelly Project.

Tears of joy and sadness alike have dripped down my cheeks for this franchise.

I decided during my senior year of high school that I wanted to go far away to further my education. I looked in Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, and even Connecticut; but I somehow found my way into Boston to attend Curry College…That’s another story.

To make it short, I want to become a sports journalist so why not go to Title Town?

Since I’ve been here, I’ve witnessed both Super Bowl Championships and actually went to the 2013 Red Sox parade which just so happened to fall on my birthday. It reminded me of when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008. Best day of my life, so far.

I never went to either Patriots parade though; I still have a grudge against Super Bowl XXXIX…And here we are again.

From the beginning of the school year, people would see me in my green and apologize to me for supporting such a team.

“You’re an Eagles fan? Gee, I’m sorry,” was an actual thing said to me on Week 1 of the regular season. Little did he know that the Wentz Phenomena was only just beginning.

The Eagles kept winning, and I kept supporting. Despite that, my friends here still liked to remind me how many rings Tom Brady has.

Just being honest, every single Pats fan thought that the reigning champs would be in the Super Bowl again; they weren’t wrong and I never doubted them. But no one thought they would be playing the Philadelphia Eagles, especially when our Lord and Savior, Carson Wentz, went down.

Now that it’s official, I don’t get the same apologies for being an Eagles fan. Instead, people just laugh.

Statements have shifted to, “This is going to be Brady’s easiest ring yet,” and “How sad are you going to be on Sunday?”

These comments don’t sit well with me, but like I said before; New England has a winning culture. I expect fans to be confident, and I know they like to rub it in other’s faces.

“They hate us ‘cause they ain’t us!” That statement is spot on. I speak on behalf of the city of Philadelphia when I say yes, we want that. We want a Super Bowl so badly it hurts.

We want a Super Bowl so badly we risk our own lives climbing city poles doused in Crisco just because we won the NFC.

https://twitter.com/BlueWaffleIron/status/955273564583800832

We don’t know what winning feels like and we want it bad. We crave that feeling. We want what you have, New England.

I am happy to say that I will be traveling home for Super Bowl Sunday. I will be watching with my crazy family who all bleed green, and I hope we get a taste of that sweet Lombardi Trophy.

If the Eagles lose, however, I wouldn’t want it to be to any other team. Despite still being sour about Super Bowl XXXIX, Boston has been my home for the past four years. I love it just as much as the city where I’m from.

Boston will always have a special place in my heart. So when you see me on campus with my jersey or my Eagles beanie on, don’t apologize to me. Don’t make fun of the team I support or where I’m from. Win or lose, it will be a good game, so say “Hey! Great game!” not “Hey the Birds suck!”

Either way, win or lose, both teams will have next year.