Hatorade

Courtesy of uncyclopedia.wikia.com

The Super Bowl is over and with it the NFL season ends.  It won’t be long now before the Eagles send me the invoice for next year’s season tickets.  Spring training is right around the corner and that means the weather should be getting warmer.  I say should be because after these “spring” like temps this winter, perhaps spring will bring blustery cold temps and snow.  There are a few loose ends I’d like to tie up about this year’s Super Bowl.

Root, Root, Root for the……..

As much as it pains me to say and see, the Giants are champs for the second time in four years.  If this isn’t bad enough to deal with as an Eagles fan, I have to hear people telling me I should be happy for them.  Huh?  All week leading up to the game and today after the game, I have had to hear people tell me that I have to root for the Giants because they are “NFC East”.  First of all, that is the reason I’m not rooting for them.  They are one of the three NFL teams I hate the most because of the fact they play in my division.  Sorry, but as a self respecting fan I just can’t do it.

Courtesy of philavania.com

  Secondly, since the Giants won I now have to deal with the Giants fans talking trash about their team’s victory.  That’s like rooting for a migraine.  Wouldn’t do that so why would I root to hear the Giants fans talk shit?  Finally, the truth is I’m a hater.  If my team can’t win I don’t want anybody to win.  Childish?  Sure, but since somebody has to win I’d rather it not be my enemy.  Rooting for the Giants is like helping an ex-girlfriend pick out lingerie for her new boyfriend.  Just doesn’t make much sense.

New York, Dallas, and Washington 12 – Philadelphia 0

Now that the Giants have won Super Bowl 46, the NFC East has now won 12 of 46 Super Bowls.  Of those 12 the Eagles have won a whopping 0.  Awesome.  Still think I should be rooting for the Giants?  Don’t even tell me that the Eagles have won “NFL” championships before there was a Super Bowl.  Who cares?  There should also be a statute of limitations on Super Bowl wins and bragging rights.  10 years is about right.  Listen, if you weren’t born when your team won you shouldn’t be bragging about it.  Perfect example was Steelers fans.  Of course now they have two more to brag about but you get the point.  

Speed Dating

Hands down the funniest commercial of the night was the E-Trade baby who was “speed dating” in the nursery.  Second funniest?  The Doritos one with the dog paying the man off to keep quiet about the missing cat.  The Matthew Broderick commercial would've been good if I hadn't already seen it 1000 times leading up to the Super Bowl.  What's up with that?

Vogue

I must say that Madonna’s halftime show was pretty good.  The MIA “flip” off thing is being blown out of proportion.  I didn’t personally see it but it wouldn’t have offended me if I had.  Meanwhile, there’s nobody to blame but NBC anyway.  After the whole Janet Jackson “wardrobe” malfunction, NBC should’ve been on high alert.  Somebody dropped the ball.  You want to be mad at MIA?  Be mad at her for her music.

The NFL season is over.  I could say congrats to the Giants, but it wouldn’t be heartfelt.  Yes I drank plenty of Hatorade today, so what? Until next time this is Jimbo saying for all of my Phillies fans out there, here’s a little bit of silver lining; the last time the Giants won the Super Bowl, the Phillies won the World Series. 

Hall of Lame?

Courtesy of www.abc6onyourside.com

Courtesy of examiner.com

Tonight the Hall of Fame selections for the NFL’s class of 2012 were made.  Congrats to Curtis Martin, Chris Doleman, Willie Roaf, Dermonti Dawson, Cortez Kennedy and Jack Butler.  I don’t want to take away from these guys’s moment but there is a travesty going on right now.  To me the Hall of Fame is for the best of the best.  Most guys’ selection is not arguable.  It’s usually the guys that get left out that leave people arguing.  My usual rule of thumb is if you have to think a long time about it then said player is not a HOFer.  That leads me to the point of the post.  Who is and who isn’t a HOFer?  

The 2012 class includes many legends.  In fact I can’t argue with any of them…expect one.  Cortez Kennedy?  Before I go further let me preface you with why I, as an east coast fan, know anything let alone a lot about a Seattle player.  My uncle, yes my dad’s own flesh and blood, has made a conscious decision to be a Seattle Seahawks fan.  No, he’s never been there.  No he probably couldn’t name the starting team, but he’s a fan.  He’ll tell you about Steve Largent and how great he was.  How Brian Bosworth was the next coming.  Dave Krieg is comparable to Joe Montana….yes he’s that kind of fan. (Remember, none of us can choose our family) 

The reason I bring up Uncle Boomer (names have been somewhat changed to protect the innocent......)  is this…Cortez Kennedy gets a Hall of Fame spot?  For real?  This guy to me is a Jerome Brown wanna be.  God rest his sole but JB would've destroyed this guys career.  You see because Uncle “Boomer” was a Hawks fan, I not only had the chance to follow them but I did watch and pay attention to them more than most East Coast fans.  Cortez was a decent player, don’t get me wrong.  Hall of Fame?  Ehhhh? I’m not so sure.

Courtesy of http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

  We going stats?  Kevin Greene. Clyde Simmons. Leslie O’neal.  Check the numbers.  Not taking anything from Cortez but still, those cats deserve it more.  Especially Kevin Greene.... WWF career aside.....

Courtesy of crwflags.com

Speaking of deserving players.  Cortez Kennedy makes it but Chris Carter doesn’t?  As far as I’m concerned, Andre Reed, Chris Carter and Tim Brown are in way before Cortez.  Don’t think so?  Check the stats.  Yep, I also expect to see Randy Moss and Terrell Owens there, but I’ll save that for later.  Kevin Greene?  In.  Bill Parcells?  As much as I hate to admit, in.  Cortez?  Great player but Hall of Famer?  Is it possible that people look at his stats and forget he played in Seattle and didn’t “wow” anyone?  Never wowed me.  He was a player at the beginning  of the  ESPN saturation.  Never “wowed” me enough to leave my Eagles.  Maybe my dad instilled enough of his Philly #1 conviction in me?

Courtesy of losthatsportsblog.com

Speaking of the Eagles #1 and my father's parenting, I still am biased to my Birds.  Especially those cats from 87-93, you know Gang Green.  The great defensive team that was built by Buddy Ryan.  Hall of famers? I could name a few..... but not all of them.  Randall Cunningham?  Yep.  Check the numbers.  Better than Aikman’s….minus the Super Bowls.  Clyde Simmons?  If Cortez is than yep, Clyde is.  Eric Allen?  In my opinion, yep.  Seth Joyner?  Borderline.  You get the point.  Those teams were good. Don't forget Reggie.......

Hell I think Donovan McNabb gets consideration.  Yes, I know I know.  I drove the McNabb bus since the day he was drafted.  Remember when cats wanted Ricky Williams?  I’d say McNabb had a tad bit better career.  Look at the numbers.  He doesn’t puke in the huddle in Super Bowl 39 he’s a shoe in.  Like I said, you get it.  You can make the argument for a number of former birds.  Unfortunately much like this weekend, as an Eagles fan I’ll spend Super Bowl Sunday wondering what if?  Every year when I see who did make the HOF I have to wonder…

What if those teams from 87-93 had won a playoff game?  Fuck the Fog Bowl.  What if Donovan hadn’t puked? 

Courtesy of cheesesteakswithbarkley.wordpress.com

What if I had been born in Pit…ok, that’s it, don’t want to go there….that’s it for today.  Remember the pick is the Patriots because Tom Brady is that damn good.  Until next time this is Jimbo saying despite being a Seahawks fan in Philly, we all love our "Uncle Boomer".  Love to hear my NFL fans' opinion this post.  Is Cortez that good?  Is Chris Carter that bad?  Let me hear it.

Are You a Cardinal?

The 4 Pack is back.  There’s a few things that I want to get into so I figured today is the perfect time for the first 4 Pack of 2012.

 

Are You a Cardinal?

(I’m sure this post is going to win me a lot of Catholic fans)  On Tuesday Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua died in his sleep.  Ordinarily I’d never comment on any type religious related death like this.  Partly because of fear (don’t want to piss the big guy upstairs off) and partly because frankly I just don’t care enough.  This case though really has me irked.  First of all, this man helped to cover up the priest sex abuse scandal.  Bevilaqua was responsible for “shifting” priests accused of molesting kids to other parishes; exposing countless others to these sick pedophiles.  In my opinion there is nothing to “praise” this man for.  He is despicable and should rot in hell along with all of his molesting priest friends.  This leads me to the second thing that irks me.  Just over a week ago, millions were critical of the way Joe Paterno was “crucified” (yes, pun intended) by the media for making “a mistake” in the Jerry Sandusky molestation case.  To me the two are completely unrelated.  Like I stated in this blog before, I am not a Penn St. fan.  However, the fact that I even bring this up is extremely offensive to JoePa and I apologize.  However, it irks me to no end that Paterno was made to be a villain yet Bevilaqua is praised for his “life’s work”.  A life’s work that has fucked up many people’s lives.  I’m not sure what the national coverage of the death of Bevilaqua is but I think it’s utterly ridiculous that just because this man was “holy” he can’t be criticized in death like JoePa?  He endangered far more people than what JoePa did.  It’s a disgrace.

By By By

Courtesy of blog.lib.umn.edu

I was watching the local news the other day I saw a story about a man and a cab driver who were pulled from the cab and beaten on a crowded Philadelphia street by 3 teenagers.  The man was being interviewed and was talking about the bystander effect.  He questioned how nobody on the street jumped in and helped.  I can answer that very easily.  First, in Philly there have been numerous problems the past couple of years with flash mobs.  People are not jumping in when there could be 100s of other teens hiding, waiting to pounce.  Sorry it’s the truth.  Secondly, it may sound harsh but you never know if the teens have a knife or gun. (The man actually said the same thing)  Again, people have to look out for themselves.  Finally, there have been many cases in which people have intervened and then been sued by the victims, caught a disease from someone involved, or worse.  While it may seem heartless, in this day and age you unfortunately never know what can happen.  Hell, you saw what happened to the gang on Seinfeld.

I’m not Going

Courtesy of martinblee.com

Recently the Boston Bruins were invited to visit the president at the White House in a tradition that dates back to the 1860s when Andrew Johnson would meet with baseball teams.  When the Bruins visited Obama they were without goalie Tim Thomas.  Thomas refused the visit because he feels that the government has grown out of control.  Huh?  This is ridiculous.  I’m all about free speech and standing up for what you believe but seriously Tim?  This was to honor your team’s victory.  This was not about you, it was the about the team.  It just looks bad.  If I was the owner of the team I’d have forced Thomas to go.  There have been many times I’ve been forced to do things while working various jobs that I didn’t want to do.  You are an employee of the Boston Bruins therefore you waive some of your rights when you are “on the clock”.  This was a team function therefore your political thoughts get put to the side.  Besides, the last thing I want to hear is athletes speaking about politics.  Just shut up and play.

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is this weekend.  As an Eagles fan I will once again be watching disappointedly.  Making this year’s Super Bowl even more disappointing is the fact that the Eagles hated rivals the Giants are making their 2^nd trip in the past 4 years.  They are taking on the New England Patriots, again, for the 2^nd time in 4 years.  I’ll watch and honestly really hate that I have to root for one team to win.  Usually I’d say I have the commercials but I got impatient and started watching the leaks on YouTube.  Oh well.  As far as who I think will win the game?  I’m going with the Patriots.  Tom Brady is just too good to lose 2 Super Bowls….especially to the same team.

Courtesy of http://www.imagepicphotos.com

That’s it for this week’s 4 Pack.  I was glad to see in the paper today that ex-Philadelphia School District superintendent Arlene Ackerman was denied unemployment today.  As Nelson from the Simpson would say, “HA HA”.  Karma’s a bitch.  Until next time this is Jimbo saying I’ll care about the very poor. 

Eulogy of the "Dream Team"

(The following is a Eulogy for the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles with quotes from Julius Caesar spattered throughout….not very coherently but Shakespearian none the less.)

Friends, Philadelphians, Eagles Fans.....

Friends, Philadelphians, Eagles fans, lend me your ears; I come to bury the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles, not to praise them.  As the seconds ticked off the clock in Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, it became perfectly clear that this team is dead.  Sure, there are 11 games left and this still remains a talented team; but for all intents and purposes, this season is over.  The so called “Dream Team” played more like a nightmare through the first 5 games of this season.  There have been 100 teams that have started 1-4 since 1990 (a fact that fans were reminded of repeatedly during the broadcast).  Of those 100 teams only 5 have made the playoffs.  5 out of 100.  Not even the most degenerate gambler would take those odds.  So here we sit having just buried our “can’t lose” baseball team, mourning the loss of our overhyped football team.  If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.

Hey guys, remember me?

The “Dream Team”.  Sure it was a quote said in jest by a backup quarterback that may or may not have been taken out of context.  We all bought into the hype.  We thought we had a Super Bowl contender. Are we just as much to blame for the pain we feel?  We are here with heavy hearts but why? You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!  O you hard hearts, you cruel fans of Philadelphia, knew you not Rich Kotite?

I'm in over my head

How did this happen?  What went wrong?  We could go back and forth but there’s one thing for sure; it starts with the coaching staff.  Let’s start with defense.  Could Juan Castillo be out of his element?  Is it possible he is just a figure head?  Defensive line coach Jim Washburn likes to run the now infamous “wide 9”.  Is this truly Castillo’s defense? Or is Washburn pulling the strings behind the scenes. In theory the Wide 9 is not a bad defense.  In Philly it hasn’t worked due to the Eagles ineptitude at linebacker.  The front office put their faith in Casey Mathews who is very undersized for a linebacker.  He has proven that it takes more than a famous bloodline to be successful in the NFL.  The other linebackers shall remain nameless basically because they are just that; nameless.  The Eagles defense has been run over by Cadillac Williams, Steven Jackson, Michael Turner, Frank Gore and Fred Jackson like Bo Jackson would run over people in Tecmo Bowl.  The wide 9 has been a big bust, but for my own part, it was Greek to me.  (and apparently to the Eagles defense as well).

 

The secondary was supposed to be the strength on this defense.  With all the hype behind signing Nnamdi Asomugha and trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie along with Pro Bowler Asante Samuel, why not?  Well 3 interceptions, missed tackles too numerous to count, and an NFC leading 11 passing touchdowns given up is hardly “dream team” worthy.  Andy Reid and the defensive coaching staff have outthought themselves.  Yond, Andy Reid used to have a lean and hungry look; such men are dangerous.  Now, he just looks befuddled….and hungry; those men are not. 

Time for a divorce?

Speaking of Andy, he’s still up to his same old shenanigans.  When is he finally going to “do a better job of getting his players ready”?  It’s been 13 years and it’s still the same old song.  After every game it’s the same thing.  It’s time to end this 13 year marriage.  Someone’s head needs to roll and it has to be Andy’s.  Who else has a say in the play calling, personnel decisions, game management, and getting the player’s prepared for game day?  Yep, Andy Reid.  Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Andy, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.  You’ve had your chance.  The time to move on is now.  Time’s yours…..

Finally, the offensive “stars” are not without fault here either.  The Eagles defense is not the only part of the team doing their best Tecmo Bowl impersonation.  The offensive line at times has looked like when you call the right play on defense in Tecmo Bowl and the entire defense is in the backfield.  There is no excuse to allow the defense in the backfield before the quarterback can hand the ball off.  Michael Vick is taking a ton of hits.  Not all of them are the fault of the Swiss cheese offensive line. There have been times that Vick has simply held on to the ball too long.  Is it because he can’t read the defense?  Is it that the receivers are not getting open?  Who knows but something is wrong.  Shady McCoy has done well running the ball but is it because he’s running for his life?  This was the noblest Eagle of them all.

Finally our playmakers are not making the plays.  Perhaps they are trying too hard.  There is no excuse for a -10 turnover ratio on a “Dream Team”.  Whether it's fumbles, tipped balls that lead to interceptions, interceptions or dropped balls; the playmakers are not making the plays.  Even the sure handed Jason Avant is turning the ball over despite having a career year.  Et tu, Jason!  So my fellow Eagles fans I stand before you today to say goodbye.  Goodbye to the hopes of winning Super Bowl 46.  

Thanks to all of our loyal readers.  Remember Twitter @Obs_Views_Blog and Facebook.  Also find me on LinkedIn (Jim Montgomery).  Until next time this is Jimbo saying; Bear with me; my heart is in the coffin there with the Eagles season, and I must pause till it come back to me.  2012 is another year……