Got Any Plans?

Posted: June 4th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Got Any Plans?

So, about that trip to the White House.

They were uninvited.

Apparently Trump found out this was going to be a fraction of the team. A small fraction.

With Trump’s ego, having only a handful of Eagles on hand wasn’t going to work, even if it included the owner, coach and a QB or two. Rather than go through with the ceremony with only a few Eagles, Trump canceled it and will now have a non-football gathering.

The irony here is that the statement from the White House focuses on standing for the national anthem. The Eagles didn’t have any players who knelt. Malcolm Jenkins raised his arm. A couple of other players also did this at times during the season.

It’s no secret that many Eagles don’t agree with Trump’s politics. Some people have mentioned that the Eagles could have gone with the idea of opening up a dialogue with Trump. The problem with that theory is that Trump has not shown himself to be the most open-minded person. He’s very much a “my way or the highway” kind of guy. Heck, that’s one of the things many of his supporters love about him.

Eagles players didn’t see a chance for a genuine discussion so they weren’t going to go.

I haven’t written about the anthem issue because I prefer to focus on football than side issues. Plenty of other outlets, sports and political, cover the anthem and protests. This so directly involved the Eagles that I couldn’t really avoid it.

Some of you won’t be happy with the Eagles because of this. That’s fine. Not everyone has to agree.

Do keep this in mind. No matter your politics, the Eagles have run a first class organization during the Lurie years. You can go back to Jermane Mayberry and the Eagles Eyemobile. They do the playground project every year. They’ve honored the military at Training Camp for years. Connor Barwin was only with the team a few seasons, but did tremendous things in the community. Chris Long is just in his second season, but has donated a lot of money and support to good causes. Carson Wentz’s charity softball game raised a ton of money for charity just last week.

This organization and these players genuinely try to make their community a better place. That’s something we should all be proud of.

*****

Dwight Clark, the man who made The Catch, died today.

I remember that game vividly. It was the coldest weekend I’ve ever experienced. I got home from a Boy Scout camping trip and thawed out by watching the NFC Championship. What an amazing game. The funny thing is that the guy I hated most back then was Joe Montana. That name seemed so fake. He had the blonde hair and great smile. It seemed like Hollywood designed a QB.

Clark played his college ball at Clemson. They were a running team, to put it mildly. He caught 12 passes as a senior. 12! The Niners still saw enough to draft him and have him be a key player for multiple Super Bowl teams.

*****

We’ll resume football talk on Tuesday.

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