tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400096075233822963.post7686927220732618835..comments2024-03-05T04:04:06.597-05:00Comments on Kotite's Corner: Open Letter to Philly Sports FansKotite's Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14063433568181141132noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400096075233822963.post-56669923736161148752009-03-06T11:37:00.000-05:002009-03-06T11:37:00.000-05:00Holy Hyperbole, Batman!!Look, I'm not going to...Holy Hyperbole, Batman!!<BR/><BR/>Look, I'm not going to disagree with you on your basic premise - the way the Eagles' FO handled this situation flat-out stunk. If Banner/Reid et al felt that Dawkins was no longer worth a large payday due to diminishing skills, they should have told him up front and let him find employment elsewhere, instead of playing the whole "we'd love for him to come back" nonsense. And if they really wanted an opportunity to match any offer he got on the FA market, then they should have made that absolutely clear to both his agent, and Dawkins himself.<BR/><BR/>HOWEVER...can we please stop with all of the chest-beating, garment-rending nonsense? Let's take a look at some of your points:<BR/><BR/>"But you also know that there was no greater leader on any team in any sport." - Really? NONE? Derek Jeter? Tom Brady? Seems to me that those guys have a couple of things that Dawkins doesn't - CHAMPIONSHIPS. Why is it that the lack of Superbowls in this town only reflects on the leadership skills of one player on this team? If Dawkins was the greatest leader of all time, then why haven't we won anything?<BR/><BR/>"Most of you have more sports knowledge in your little fingers than these self-appointed media and blogger experts have in their overly ample bodies." - Uh, yeah. OK. So this population of super-knowledgable fans was right when they declared that the sky was falling after the Eagles made the unforgivable sin of letting Bobby Taylor (out of football in 12 months) and Troy Vincent (moved from CB to FS after one season) go? Were we right when the fan base bought into the ridiculous hype surrounding Ricky Williams? Were we right when we called for Koy Detmer/AJ Feeley/Kevin Kolb/the guy that sells pretzels outside of the Linc to start over the 5-time Pro-bowl QB we've currently got on the roster? Philly fans are definitely well-informed, they know their stuff. BUT...<BR/><BR/>"...your passion is a gift that allows your vision to extend beyond the narrow range of those who would reduce sports to dull statistics and dollars & cents." - This is where I seriously disagree with you, man. Passion is great, but passion can cloud your thinking. <BR/><BR/>Passion from a fan base is a double-edged sword - it's the reason there's a gigantic waiting list for Eagles season tickets, but it's also the reason that SOME of us taunted Joe Jurevicius about the death of his infant son in 2003 - the reason that SOME of us thought it was perfectly OK to boo a 22-year-old kid on draft day because he wasn't the player we'd decided was our new savior - the reason that SOME of us continue to take our frustrations about not winning a championship and turn it into personal slurs at players whose greatest fault might just be that they're just not quite good enough to win a championship single-handedly (See: McNabb, Donovan, Schmidt, Mike, or Cunningham, Randall, for futher reference).<BR/><BR/>Please, man - the writers who are using this situation as an opportunity to poke fun at the fans, stir up controversy and make a name for themselves are jerks. But don't ever forget for a second that guys like Cataldi and Missanelli who tell you that you're "LIKE, TOTALLY THE SMARTEST, MOST PASSIONATEST FANS EVAH!!!1!!1!" are selling something, too. <BR/><BR/>Your passion does not make you special - it makes you a fan. It does <B>not</B> entitle you to a championship - and to take for granted the excitement (even the bittersweet excitement of too many near misses) that the Eagles have provided over the last 10 years because we haven't gotten all the way to the top of the mountain is pretty pathetic. Try telling a Detroit Lion fan about all of the injustices you've suffered at the hands of Lurie & Company. I'm sure they'll be very sympathetic.<BR/><BR/>Dawkins is gone, and it sucks. I'm mad as hell about it. But the honest truth of the matter is that this is the way the NFL works - and always has. Namath, Unitas, Montana, Lott, Rice, Emmitt Smith - not one of those guys finished their playing careers with the teams that they won championships with. So it goes. Move on already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com