Thanks To Wentz, Eagles Nation Has New Chapter Up North
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Eagles fans are excited about the start of the Carson Wentz era this Sunday. So too are legions of newly-minted Eagles fans in Wentz' home state.
North Dakota has long been Vikings territory, but 2016 has brought about a major conversion, thanks to homegrown hero Carson Wentz.
"The night after the draft, one of the major sporting goods stores here had Eagles jerseys, eagles shirts," says Dom Izzo -- sports director at WDAY-TV in Fargo. "A week later they actually had his official jersey here in all three colors of Philadelphia."
On Sunday's this fall, Izzo won't be surprised to see football fans elbowing each other for the TV remote:
"The Vikings and the Eagles both play on Fox and there's no debate the Vikings are always gonna be on and if they intersect. At the same time there's a lot of people who are gonna want to watch Carson play."
He says the buzz has built to a fever pitch in the aftermath of last weekend's developments:
"Once Teddy Bridgewater got hurt, that made the move for Sam Bradford possible. And then it elevates Carson Wentz to the starting quarterback. It's just really ironic how all those things were intertwined to help out both fan bases that we cover out here in North Dakota."
Come October 23rd, heads may explode out there when the Vikings face the Eagles. One person who will be watching closely is Wentz's high school coach, Ron Wingenbach.
"In your wildest dreams you wouldn't imagine that he'd be starting the NFL and leading the Eagles," he says, "and so it's just kind of a surreal moment that you just want to just sit back and take in."
