Ron Jaworski. Harold Carmichael. Wilber Montgomery. Herman Edwards. Leroy Harris. Bill Bergey. Frank LeMaster. Joe Pisarcik. Roynell Young. John Sciarra. Carl Hairston. The barefoot Tony Franklin. The run-run-pass-punt Dick Vermeil.
The Eagles of my youth.
I still hate the Raiders and can still taste the pain of Rod Martin on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Then all those other years, decades, of getting close but never getting there. An experience of torture, a relationship of frustration, but still a team that felt more like a bunch of old friends at the bar than a sports franchise out of reach.
Mike Quick. John Spagnola. Clyde Simmons. Randall Cunningham. Wes Hopkins. Seth Joyner. Fred Barnett. Reggie White. Brian Dawkins. Donovan McNabb. Andre Watters. David Akers. Buddy Ryan.
Merrill Reese’s voice on the radio. Our Peter O’Sullevan. Our Jim McKay. The wins. The losses. So many losses.
We heard about their last championship, back in 1960, long before there was something called the Super Bowl. Way back in black-and-white. Van Brocklin, Bednarik, Tommy McDonald…our fathers and grandfathers telling us about those Eagles on long car rides and on busted Sunday afternoons. Fewer pads, softer helmets, tougher men. I could envision Bednarik’s tackle on Jim Taylor like I was there that day at Franklin Field.
And then the 2018 Super Bowl. Their first Super Bowl. Their first championship since 1960, we weren’t reminded of that anymore.
The upset of the Patriots, a pause on Tom Brady’s dynasty, a blip on Belichick reign. The lightning-in-a-bottle Nick Foles. The Philly Special. The first sporting event Miles paid any attention to; he thought being an Eagles fan was easy. An indelible day, a moment in time, a memory with my son.
And now…
A route of the Chiefs. A pause on Mahomes’ mastery. A smirch on Andy Reid’s highlight reel. An avenge. A decimation.
Miles, two feet taller and voice deeper than a well, now explains Howie Roseman’s signing strategy and Nick Sirianni’s play calling to me. We share another Super Bowl. Another moment in sport. Another memory for father and son.
Jalen Hurts. Jalen Carter. Cooper DeJean. DeVonta Smith. Jake Elliott. A.J. and C.J. and E.J. Zack Baun. Quinyon Mitchell. Kenneth Gainwell. Dallas Goedert. Landon Dickerson. Lane Johnson. Brandon Graham. Saquon. Sirianni.
The Eagles of the second Super Bowl.
