Eagles Fans Being Taken for Another Ride

If you've ever ridden a roller coaster, then you can somewhat understand what it feels like to be an Eagles fan and trust me, this years team has taken it's fans on yet another ride.

It all started in the off season, when the front office decided to not overpay for 13 year veteran safety Brian Dawkins; not just the heart and soul of the team’s defense but also a huge fan favorite. Needless to say, this move did not sit well with the fan base, many of whom pledged to not renew their season tickets. More on that in just a moment.

Now imagine someone cutting the electricity on your roller coaster ride leaving you stuck upside down in the middle of the loop. It’s kind of how many Eagles fan felt the night of the August 13, when the announcement was made in the middle of the pre-season opener against New England, that the team had just signed former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick to a two year contract.

Gee, I’m going to guess there are at least one or two Eagle fans who are dog lovers. As it turned out, team owner Jeff Lurie had put his two dogs to sleep over the past two years and was extremely sickened by the brutal acts of abuse Vick and his partners performed on Vicks stable of fighting pit bulls. So why sign the former felon? Again, the team lets all around good guy Brian Dawkins walk but in turn signs a player who at the height of his federal trial, was public enemy number one. Talk about a publicity nightmare. Then came more pledges of fans not only willing to forgo next years season tickets but also wanting to boycott the team this season. Again, more on that in just a moment.

Then there was the 1-and-3 preseason record which quickly prompted regular season predictions of the team finishing 6-10, 7-9 or 8-8. The fact the eagles gave up 120 points in those four exhibition games, only added to the rage of those fans already upset over the loss of Dawkins.

Hold on to the bar and please keep your arms inside the confines of the coaster car because we are about to hit an incline. The Birds win their season opener by crushing Carolina in Charlotte 38-10 as the defense converted 7 Panther turnovers into 24 points. Unfortunately, in the win Donovan McNabb suffered a pair of broken ribs. So, here we go again, another injury for number 5 and another season of uncertainty.

During Donovan’s two game absence, third year quarterback Kevin Kolb stepped in and threw for over 700 yards, 4 touchdowns & 3 Interceptions. Unfortunately some of those numbers coming in 48-22 loss to the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

The season appeared headed for certain derailment on October 18th, when the 2-2 Birds jetted west for a show down with the 1-3 Oakland Raiders, a game that should have produced Philadelphia’s third win of the season. Instead a 13-9 loss to the silver and black had Eagle fans screaming for Donovan McNabb’s benching and the ouster of Andy Reid as head coach. Oh yeah and more fans wanting to opt out of their season tickets, more on that in just a, well you know.

Now, when it comes to fall in Philadelphia there are two things most Eagles fans can count on, plenty of leaves to rake and a late season run by their beloved birds. As a matter of fact during Andy Reid’s 11 year tenure as head coach, his teams are 73-39-1 in games played from November on, including an impressive 31-11 mark in the month of December. This season the Eagles went 7-2 through November and December, 8-2 if you count the Redskins win on the last weekend in October.

Bottom line, the Birds are now in sole possession of first place atop the NFC East with a record of 11-4. A win this Sunday in Dallas would give them the outright division title, the second seed overall in the Conference playoffs, a first round playoff bye and a chance to advance to the teams 6th Conference title game in 8 years. Yep, it’s been another typical football season in Philadelphia.

By the way, for all those Eagles fans who still want to vacate their season tickets, listen up. According to team president Joe Banner, the waiting list for season tickets is currently 60,000 names long. Recently 15 of those fans were given the chance to purchase tickets. At that rate, it would take 4,000 years for all 60,000 of those fans to get tickets.