Eagles Fans, good read.

EAGLES!!

As the city celebrates and the Birds prepare the first of what will hopefully be many Super Bowls in the Reid-McNabb era, I think it's appropriate to, remember all those past Eagles from our lifetime who never got a chance to play in this game but sure made their mark and helped make Eagle football and Eagles Fans what we are on this glorious day.

So without further adieu...

Who Is This One For?

This one's for Randall "Let Me be Me" Cunningham and his Ugly Flap, because he was Mike Vick and Donnie Mac (and a 95-yard punter) before there was Mike Vick and Donnie Mac.

This one's for Keith Byers, whose hit on Pepper Johnson was one that will always be remembered, they were, after all, college roommates, and Anthony Tony, the man with 2 first names.

This one's for Ricky "For Who, For What" Watters, who gave Gruden the finger long before Chucky broke our hearts, and who refused to go over themiddle long before Pinky "lost it in the lights."

This one's for Buddy's Boys - the Greatest D ever assembled - Clyde,Seth, 'Dre "Dirty" Waters, Wes Hopkins, B & E , Mike Pitts, Izel "Toast"Jenkins, Mike Golic, Eric Allen, Ben Smith, and especially 1, 2, 3 J.B. #99.Bring it Home for Jerome.

This one's for the late, great Minister of Defense, who won a Super Bowl in Green Bay, but deserved one in Philly. We know he's smiling down on Philly's faithful today.

This one's for The Bounty Bowl, the Buddy Bowl, the Fog Bowl, TheBody Bag Game, the Inch That Stole Christmas, 4th & 26th and all the other classics over the years.

This one's for Mike Quick, Arkansas Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams,Chris T. Jones, Freddie Solomon, and Irving Fryar. It ain't, however, for James Thrash, Charles Johnson or Torrance Small. Sorry boys.

This one's for Mike Mamula and his half-a-sack, Mike Mcmillan and all 5 foot 9 of him, Richie the K and his laminated sheet, the Doug Pederson Era, and Tommy Hutton who bobbled the snap on Monday Night in Dallas.

This one's for Willie T, and Mike Zordich, two guys who could've played for Jim Johnson's defense any day.

This one's for Guy McIntyre, only because he is forever Lou Tilly's "Guy in the Room."

This one's for Stan Walters and Merrill, who proclaimed it Groundhog Day in December because "They give it to Smith and they stopped him AGAIN!!!"

This one's for, Tony Bruno, Tom Brookshire, G Cobb, The Cuz, Big Daddy Gharam, Angelo, Arson Arnie and the rest of the Dirty 30 who always brightened the Monday morning drive because you knew someone was out there who shared your pain.

And it's even for Wolfman Eskin, and his "Stone Cold Mortal Locks",always here to infuriate you on the ride home.

This one's for Al Morganti, who created Wing Bowl and gave us somethingto talk about, care about and laugh about before all those Super Bowls the Eagles weren't in.

This one's for Herm Edwards, who gave us "The Miracle at theMeadowlands."

This one's for Vai Sikahema punching the goalposts and the ageless wisdom of B-Mitch.

This one's for Bobby Hoying, who was Ben Roethlisberger before there was Ben Roethlisberger.

This one's for "Who Framed" Roger Ruzek, Gary Anderson, and Chris Boniol, none of whom would stand a chance against David Akers in a street fight.

This one's for Lester Holmes, Antoine Davis and all the other draftbusts that we'd like to forget.

This one's for Bobby T and Troy V, who left just a little too soon but paved the way for Lito and Sheldon. It's not for Al Harris, who's still committing pass interference somewhere in Green Bay.

This one's for Damon Moore, who chased and finally caught Ron Dixon at the
4-yard line as the Giants tried, but failed, to pull an 80-yard hook and ladder to prevent us from winning the division for the first time in decades.

This one's for Brandon Whiting, who went to San Francisco in exchange for some guy named Owens.

This one's for Duce, who, thankfully, took the Championship jinx with him across the state to Pittsburgh.

This one's for the endless chants of DALLAS SUCKS, DALLAS SUCKS!!!

But lastly, most of all, this one is for all the Philly Phaithful of Eagles Nation who've invested their blood, sweat, cheers and tears into this team and never stopped believing that one day, some day, THIS DAY wouldarrive.
How sweet it is!!!

Now let's go beat the Pats in Jacksonville!!
E...A...G...L...E...S.......EAGLES!!!!!!!!!

Greatest D ever assembled? Not even close. Ravens 2000, Bears 1986. Howard Eskin- worst sportstalk host ever. "No way the Eagles will ever resign Trotter" was a great Eskin rant earlier this year. Angelo (We want Ricky) Cattaldi? Also, Dallas Sucks is a chant started by Redskins fans not the Eagles. Great list however even for non-Eagle fans.

eskin has been wrong no doubt about it but he's been right a lot more times than he's been wrong.

Jacks is just cranky betit...don't mind him. Best article I've read in a long time!



sb

Another good read

Patriots' goal the same: Win ultimate game

By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist | January 31, 2005

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- All the blood, toil, tears, and sweat that make up the professional life of the typical New England Patriot is geared toward one goal -- to be a Super Bowl champion.

That is not speculation. That is not hyperbole. That is fact. There is no room for anyone whose purpose is to attain personal honors. If someone is that way, he keeps it to himself. There might be a faker in this group, but I don't have any idea who it might be. The typical Patriot is proud to be, well, a typical Patriot.

Many Patriots already are multiple Super Bowl winners. As such, each man has a couple of shares and a pair of rings. But the payout is modest compared to what baseball and basketball players get, and the rings are, in the end, mere symbols. It's not as if anyone is ever going to wear the gaudy bauble. Everyone talks about "wanting the ring," and then the ring goes into the safe-deposit box.

So what are they really playing for?

They are playing for a feeling.

"Emotionally speaking," says Willie McGinest, who's been with this team long enough to lose and win a Super Bowl, "you can't really describe what's going through your body. It's indescribable."

There is a great emotional release when the game ends. We're Super Bowl champs! In both Patriot triumphs, the game was decided by a last-second field goal. In both wins, the Patriots appeared to be cruising to victory when the opponent suddenly started moving the ball and scoring at will. They were the kind of games that would have produced a phenomenal sigh of relief had they occurred during the regular season, let alone in the sport's ultimate game. There was none of the stand-on-the-sideline-with-a-big-grin stuff, no deciding who would dump Gatorade on Coach Belichick. They were very tough games on the nervous system.

For some, the great feeling of joy and satisfaction is immediate. You're still on the field, you're surrounded by your teammates, the men with whom you've done everything from moan-and-groan through the July two-a-days to suffering through the sub-freezing days of December and January, and you realize, right then and there, that this is why you play.

Troy Brown was able to take the on-field experience a bit farther last year. "I was able to get my two boys from the stands," Brown says. "I had them down on the field with me, with the confetti falling on our heads and everything else that was going on."

McGinest says the great thing for him last year was looking at Rodney Harrison, the rugged safety who had to smile through the pain of a broken arm. "To think of all the years he put in, all the training, all the years he had individual success, but no real team success, and then to see the look on his face was very special to me," McGinest maintains. "I think I was happier for him than myself."

Others find the feeling hits them a bit later. "I think when it gets me is the parade," says offensive guard Joe Andruzzi. "To see and hear millions of people out there cheering for you and congratulating you on what you've accomplished, it kind of hits you in the face. It's a great feeling."

McGinest is another who says the parade is when the whole thing really hits him. "It's all kind a blur, even now," he says, "but the parade is when it hits me, and then maybe a few weeks later."

Special teams player extraordinaire Larry Izzo notes that with both Super Bowl triumphs ending in winning field goals by Adam Vinatieri there is a lot of spontaneous celebration taking place on the field. He also likes the parade, where "you feel like a rock star." And then, he says, "you feel that high for weeks, and only later do you look back to realize what it is that you've really accomplished."

Then we have Tom Brady, who has a more complex response to the phenomenon. "The first time around, it took a while for it all to hit me," he explains. "But last year it came a lot quicker. I looked around and saw guys who hadn't been with us the first time. It was great to see the smiles on the faces of guys like Rodney, Larry Centers, and Christian Fauria. That meant a lot to me."

All team sport athletes share a sense of group accomplishment. They can all reflect on the good, and not-so-good, moments of a long season. But with all due respect to those gritty hockey players, no players put their bodies on the line for the common good more than football players. By the middle of the season, they're all hurting to some degree, and only those men inside the locker room know what they have gone through in order to achieve their goal.

So it is safe to say that no other professional team sport athletes have a deeper feeling of satisfaction than the ones who come together in the heat of July and then walk off the field 6 1/2 months later as Super Bowl champions.

It's not the money, it's not the rings, and it's surely not for the history (that appreciation comes much later). No, the Patriots are playing to regain the feeling. It's that simple.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist.

Thanks for the memories, nice read.
Jerome and reggie in heaven are cheerring for us.
As a fan:

Favorite Game: Body Bag
Favorite Coach: Buddy (not the best coach, but most fun)
Favorite QB: Randall
Favorite RB: Ron "Po" James
Favorite WR: Arkansas Freddy Barnett
Favorite TE: Chalie Young (hell the whole fire high gang)
Favorite DL: Had to be Reggie, but loved Clyde too
Favorite LB: BIll Bergey
Favorite DB: Wes and Andre

We Eagels fans have certainly suffered through the years, but it has been a fun journey.