It was a summer tradition, and part of the mystique of being a die-hard Eagles fan.
Making the trek to training camp.
No, I'm not old enough to remember when they trained at Hershey.
But I was there at Widener, when the Birds convened in Chester.
And when they moved to West Chester University, I was in heaven. I was living in the borough at the time, and would ride my bike down to the stadium on South New Street on my days off.
My brother always tells the story of how he once gave Coach Dick Vermeil a lift as he saw him walking up New Street from the practice complex to the dorms.
I used to join those fans who would stand along the walk from the field house to the fields where they would practice. I was always stunned by one thing.
I could not believe how big Randall Cunningham was. He seemed huge to me, a one-time high school quarterback. There was a time when NFL quarterbacks actually looked like most guys, but Cunningham seemed larger than life. I always wondered if he wore shoulder pads that were for a lineman or running back, as opposed to a quarterback.
I was dismayed when the Birds decided to move camp from West Chester to Lehigh University, but I still made the trip up the Northeast Extension to see them each summer.
Hey, it was free.
Those days are long gone.
It started a few years ago when the Birds cut ties with Lehigh. They moved their summer practices to the team's training complex at the NovaCare complex in South Philly.
No more stories of these massive men trying to squeeze themselves into tiny dorm rooms - and beds made for college kids.
All those summer sessions were part of the special bond between this team and Philly fans.
All the practices were open to the public -and they were free.
It was the one time many fans - especially those who could not afford a season ticket - could see their heroes in person.
The Eagles closed practices when they moved to South Philly, shrouded behind those hedges at the NovaCare complex.
They would offer a token couple of free practices at Lincoln Financial Field.
Yesterday the team announced their summer schedule - and with it the end of another era - a chance to see the Eagles practice for free.
Eagles fans this summer will get only one chance to see the Birds during training camp - and you will have a buy a ticket to get in.
But you can take heart in the fact that all the money raised will be going to charity. All proceeds from the $10 admission fee for the Aug. 4 session will go to the Eagles Autism Challenge.
Doug Pederson will put his rosters through their paces at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m.
I'm glad the money will go to the Eagles Autism Challenge, but I can't hide my distaste for the increasingly private nature of summer camp. Slowly but surely, the fans are being frozen out - except when they are willing to open their wallets.
Did the team consider simply making a donation in the fans' name and keeping the practice session free? Or perhaps simply asking fans to make donations as they entered the stadium?
It doesn't seem to have dampened fans' enthusiasm. Apparently the practice session at the Linc already is sold out.
But it just won't feel the same as those days at West Chester.
I guess nothing stays the same.
And for a lot of fans, that is a shame.
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