BLOG: Are You Going To Cheer?
By: Andy Wheeler
Are you going to cheer? Or are you going to boo?
Me I'm booing. And you know why? Because I'm allowed to when someone doesn't meet expectations. And because everyone is acting like Philadelphia Fans are animals. Some of us actually do use our brains.
But I'm going to boo…and I'll be clapping for him too.
I know that doesn't make sense, but let me explain. Every time the subject of Donovan McNabb comes up…if you don't want to hear an argument…don't be standing near Beasley and I.
He will point out OVER and OVER and OVER again the statistics. Mostly because he knows most of my understanding comes from numbers.
Best Quarterback in Eagles history. Yup. No question. Statistically and where it most counts…wins…he's fantastic.
But for some reason people are asking those of us that aren't Donovan fans "How can you not see that this is the best quarterback you guys have ever had… and that you're nuts to be glad he's gone."
I hate to put it like this…he may be the best we've ever had…but he won't be the best ever for this team. The quarterback…whether it be a Trent Dilfer type or a Peyton Manning…that wins a Super Bowl in this town will be considered the best ever. Probably elevated to God status actually.
And Donovan wasn't that. Period.
I'm tired of people telling me I'm wrong about this or an idiot. He was amazing. He was fantastic in every way. Good guy, funny…he was the complete package…without the pretty bow. The expectation, and what we were told, was that this was the guy that would lead us to a championship. He wasn't…so BOOOOOOOOOO!
There seems to be a perception that the great gunslinger is returning to the scene of the crime. The Prodigal Son returning. That's a bunch of crap. He's a guy that didn't like it here…at least at the end…coming back to face the music. Well he may have liked it here, but he didn't like the fans…at least the ones that were critical of him. He carried the scarring of a draft day boo…and he still does.
Sure there was a love, a deep bond early on as he brought us into dominance. We cheered, he smiled and we won every game in site…except the big one. Time passed and some got tired of waiting. We became frustrated by the same old same old over and over again.
More scrutiny and pressure…jokes when there shouldn't have been. Air guitars pre game and then getting crushed by the Cowboys. Throwing others under the bus…and most importantly not liking the fans. And to say…oh he just didn't like the ones that booed, is insane.
The national media has proven…it's hard to see any difference among us when you look from a far…so we're all lumped together. He wasn't from here…so we were all the same at the end. I hate to tell all you Donovan lovers out there…but that means he didn't like you either.
Truly great Quarterbacks come up at the big moment, in the big games, and raise their level of play. He may have been a great Quarterback by the numbers, but I never saw his play in any of the Championship games or Super Bowl as lifting the others around him. He never willed them to a win in the most important games…which is the trait of a great Quarterback.
And the Eagles aren't without fault here. This is the offense…with the exception of the line…that they should have built when Donovan was in his prime. But Andy Reid and the guys upstairs decided providing a dynamic guy with other dynamic guys around him (except for Westbrook and T.O.) wasn't important.
They said they were the Gold standard…they told us we'd win Super Bowls…they told us that Donovan was "The One"…and he wasn't.
And that's ok. It really is. I'm fine with all of it. It was a fantastic ride…and things are certainly looking up without him. I wish the guy nothing but the best. Except 2 times a year and maybe in the playoffs vs. the Eagles.
He was great, he really was. But he's gone. So I'll clap for all the good stuff he did, and the good times. And I'll boo as loud as I possibly can for the failed expectations...because that's my right. I'm not going to be insulting…I'm not going to be rude. If anything what you will hear on Sunday will be one of the more respectful boos in your life.
How will the fans react as a whole? Truthfully…I'm not 100% sure. My guess is he'll get a warm response that ultimately he won't take the right way. He'll hear some of the boos, and that will be all he hears. Will something happen to add to our resume among the rest of the World as the worst fans in the World?
The national media can take a rest. We are called terrible fans. We boo Santa, we are stupid…you know what, shut up! 100+ sell outs for the Phillies. Cheers so loud that people dread playing here because we intimidate. Yeah we're awful. And just because some people might boo "The Great Donovan McNabb" when he returns we are crude or idiotic? No! He failed here. When you fail, you get booed. When you win, your glory lasts forever. That is the way of things here.
I think Sunday will be fascinating. How is his body language? Is he smiling when he under throws a guy now? How will this affect him and his game…will he run? Does he have one game left in him that he can just stuff in all our faces?
Only time will tell…Sunday at 4pm we'll see just how big a game Donovan can win.
