The vaunted “gold standard” of Jeff Lurie et al has picked up another ding in its shiny exterior.
This time I can’t really blame them, but they still brought it on themselves.
Here’s the deal. Jim Devlin, a fan from King of Prussia, managed to score a credential that allowed him to patrol the Eagles sideline for yesterday’s practice sessions.
His choice of attire certainly got the Eagles’ attention. Devlin showed up in a Donovan McNabb No. 5 Redskins jersey.
Devlin says he was looking “to get a reaction.” He got one.
An Eagles security official approached Devlin and asked him to remove the jersey. Whether or not he was doing this at the request of Andy Reid is still a matter of conjecture. Devlin says the security guy told him Reid had noticed it. The team later said they simply did not want the jersey in that VIP section of the sidelines.
The truth is this is a lot about nothing. Except that it again points out just how thin-skinned the Eagles organization is.
Was this guy wrong for wearing the McNabb jersey? Absolutely. If he was in the stands or anywhere else, it wouldn’t have been a big issue. But the fact is that he had a credential to be on the sidelines.
What’s telling here is the way the Eagles reacted. They should have simply ignored it. Instead, they again imposed their will. In the process they gave Devlin his 15 minutes of fame and created a story where there probably was none before.
I actually feel for them in this instance. Sure, your first reaction is to tell this knucklehead to take off the jersey. They could have booted him out altogether. Instead, they asked him to take off the jersey. He complied, and was actually seen later in the day back on the sidelines with a Kevin Kolb jersey on.
If you think this team has exorcised the demons surrounding Donovan McNabb, think again.
I wonder what their reaction would have been had it been a jersey with any other player’s name and number on it?
Of course, that didn’t happen. It was No. 5. Even though he now works a couple hundred miles south on I-95, the shadow of McNabb still lingers over the Eagles.
And it doesn’t look it’s going to go away anytime soon.
This time I can’t really blame them, but they still brought it on themselves.
Here’s the deal. Jim Devlin, a fan from King of Prussia, managed to score a credential that allowed him to patrol the Eagles sideline for yesterday’s practice sessions.
His choice of attire certainly got the Eagles’ attention. Devlin showed up in a Donovan McNabb No. 5 Redskins jersey.
Devlin says he was looking “to get a reaction.” He got one.
An Eagles security official approached Devlin and asked him to remove the jersey. Whether or not he was doing this at the request of Andy Reid is still a matter of conjecture. Devlin says the security guy told him Reid had noticed it. The team later said they simply did not want the jersey in that VIP section of the sidelines.
The truth is this is a lot about nothing. Except that it again points out just how thin-skinned the Eagles organization is.
Was this guy wrong for wearing the McNabb jersey? Absolutely. If he was in the stands or anywhere else, it wouldn’t have been a big issue. But the fact is that he had a credential to be on the sidelines.
What’s telling here is the way the Eagles reacted. They should have simply ignored it. Instead, they again imposed their will. In the process they gave Devlin his 15 minutes of fame and created a story where there probably was none before.
I actually feel for them in this instance. Sure, your first reaction is to tell this knucklehead to take off the jersey. They could have booted him out altogether. Instead, they asked him to take off the jersey. He complied, and was actually seen later in the day back on the sidelines with a Kevin Kolb jersey on.
If you think this team has exorcised the demons surrounding Donovan McNabb, think again.
I wonder what their reaction would have been had it been a jersey with any other player’s name and number on it?
Of course, that didn’t happen. It was No. 5. Even though he now works a couple hundred miles south on I-95, the shadow of McNabb still lingers over the Eagles.
And it doesn’t look it’s going to go away anytime soon.
Comments