Here is a picture of Paul Apicella and myself. Paul used to work with me on board the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, in the calibration lab. I must say, He is the Ultimate Pittsburgh Steelers Fan. He didn’t used to be – until……………………………….

Paul is a Liberal Egg-sucking Dog from PHILY. There are two things he felt very strongly about….JOHN KERRY and the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. All I heard about last year was how John Kerry was going to beat George Bush and how great the Philadelphia Eagles were. He talked and talked and talked and bragged – kinda like that old “constant dripping.”

When George Bush got re-elected, I wanted to rub it in, but the poor guy was distraught. I actually think he went into a stage of clinical depression. The only thing that snapped him out of it was PHILADELPHIA EAGLE football.

When I learned that there was an upcoming game between PHILY and a REAL team, I had to egg him on a little bit. Of course he talked about how great McNabb was and “bla, bla, bla, bla.” I kept pushing until he said, “OK, lets make a little bet.” I said, “Fine, but not for money. You think about it tonight and in the morning you tell me what we are going to bet on.”

Well, he had this crummy little Eagles jersey and foam hat on board (he was so proud.) “OK, Chieff,” Paul said, “Here it is…when Philadelphia beats Pittsburgh, you got to put on my jersey and hat. I will take photos and email them to all my friends.” I said, “You are on and when they lose, you’re gonna do the same.” (Little did he know that I had a whole lot more Steelers stuff on board.)

Well, Pittsburgh won and the rest is history. I put on his silly foam hat just to keep him from crying. Oh, I kicked him while he was down – I started in on Kerry. WHAMO-Baby!

That moment forever changed him. He likes defeat. He separated from the Navy to pursue a career as a Kickboxer in Las Vegas.