Dr. G: Philly Fans Screwed Again

Yup, here we go again. Just as the Eagles' fan base had reason to start getting fired up with the Peters acquisition, the outside possibility of nabbing Boldin, and the upcoming draft, along comes the Sheldon Brown train wreck to take the wind out of our sails. This is all too familiar and all too disheartening: like watching a family member on the verge of success repeatedly self-destruct. You want to intervene, you want to scream & shout, you want to slap some sense into him, but you know there's really nothing you can do but watch the tragedy unfold again and again. There are no good guys in this case, no one to root for, and little possibility of a satisfying outcome. Brown is dead wrong for whining publicly in the depth of a dangerous recession about a multi-million dollar deal he agreed to -- and was in fact delighted with -- in 2004 that set he and his family up for life. Banner is dead wrong for publicly inflaming an already volatile situation, and for once again exhibiting the knee-jerk "screw you" attitude of a petty tyrant. And they're both dead wrong for putting the fans through this agony again. But, then, with the singular exception of Brian Dawkins, when has any component of this Eagles organization given a damn about anything beyond the fans' wallets? The official motto of Team Gold Standard, from the players through the front office, is best captured in the immortal words of Ricky Watters: "For who, for what?" And that's the real shame of it all...

Reid's Only Friend?

You know you’re in trouble when your only supporter is Howard Eskin. We’re sure that Howard will spend the week re-educating the legion of nitwits like ourselves who believe that a 26% to 74% run to pass play ratio is a recipe for disaster, especially in windy conditions. But Andy and Howard always know better because…well, just because! The real question is whether Banner and Lurie still believe they know better too. The answer may well determine whether the Eagles will ever get a peek at playoff football for the next decade.

After the Parade: The Tarnishing of the Gold

What do you suppose was in the heads of Reid and Banner as the greatest parade in Philly history was streaming past their fortified bunkers in the Nova Care Center on Halloween afternoon? Visions of playoffs past? Ugly replays of the ten minute 2-minute drill, complete with McNabb losing his lunch, toward the end of their only Super Bowl appearance? My guess is neither. It’s more likely that for a fleeting moment each thought the celebration was for them. After all, year after year they talk and act as if they’ve already collected enough Lombardi hardware to fill, and bury, Citizens Bank Park. So it’s not a stretch to imagine that Reid and Banner chose to interpret the din outside as tardy Eagles fans finally giving them the overdue recognition they so richly deserve. They are, after all, The Gold Standard!

Ah, but we know what the parade really represented: it was the Fightin’ Phils and every Philly sports fan delivering a harsh reality check to Team Lurie. You see, Philly may not be awash in championship trophies and rings, but at least when you watch replays of the other Philly teams that have won it all, the pictures are in color. The last Eagles championship goes back to the days of black & white TV. Paul Hornung, anyone? Since that pre-Super Bowl era victory in 1960, Philly teams have won 5 championships – admittedly pretty dismal but, even worse, not one of these belongs to the Green & Silver. Well, then, how ‘bout the playoffs? The Eagles must dominate that category, right? Well, not exactly. Since the advent of color TV, the Eagles have been in 5 NFC Championships and sport a 2-3 record, including that lovely stretch of 3 consecutive losses from ’02-’04. Both NFC Champ victories, of course, were followed by Super Bowl losses. Over the same period, the Philles have been in 7 NL Championship games, with a record of 4-3, two of these leading to World Series victories. Hell, even the Flyers have been in 7 Stanley Cup finals, albeit with only 2 championships to show for it.

Now the Eagles brain trust would say that’s not fair; they can’t be judged by what happened before them. True, but the experience of fans is continuous – it doesn’t start, stop, and reset with each change in ownership. And the bottom line is that the Eagles are the only Philly team having 0 championships in the so-called modern era – a record that Lurie, Banner, and Reid are successfully keeping intact.

And so the real meaning of the Phils outstanding performance on the field and outstanding class demonstrated on the victory stand is clear: it is a withering message to Team Gold Standard to put up or shut up. The time is yours, Andy….