Fairweather Zealot

I won’t pretend that I’m the biggest Eagles fan in all the land – but I have come to enjoy and root for them after being exposed for all of these years.  The fact that Andy Reid and the team were doing all of the things that I wanted to see from a good sports franchise – ignoring the whining of players, managing the cap, putting together a TEAM not a group of individuals, recruiting good, solid people.  And it was hard to argue with a team that was (for the most part) made up of guys that seemed to stress team instead of the ‘ME’ (besides the obvious exception).

So it was really hard to watch how bad they looked yesterday.  Even before Donovan McNabb went down with the career-ending injury, they were struggling on all sides.  McNabb is a great quarterback, and goes out and gives everything every week.  I have my gripes about him (his avoidance of running, despite his great legs; his lack of touch on a lot of passes), but he’s a good leader and has often come up with something to win a game when it didn’t look like there was anything to come up with.

But lately, both he and Andy Reid have looked lost.  Donovan’s touch passing has been worse, and his decision-making has been suspect, at best.  Worse, Andy Reid – the architect of 4 straight NFC Championship game appearances, and 1 Super Bowl, has seemed to lose his lustre.  Unlike a lot of other, more die-hard, fans, I don’t think Reid needs to go.  However, he does need to start looking at what he has to work with and use it more effectively.

First in a (growing) list is that fact that he seems allergic to the run.  Consider that their running back – the dynamic Brian Westbrook – is averaging a fantastic 5.2 yards per carry.  Even Corell Buckhalter, their backup, is running a respectable 3.9 ypc.  In fact, the Eagles have the second best rushing average as a team in the NFL (4.9 ypc).  But yet, when it’s crunch time – 3rd and 1, 3rd and 2, etc. – they consistently turn to the pass, often to a missed opportunity.  Why aren’t they putting that running ability to use more?

Reid’s inability to change his style to reflect the styles being used against him is concerning.  Instead of a more balanced attack to start with, they start and finish with mostly passes, even when the passing game has been keyed on and made almost ineffective.  Sure, they get their 1 long play a game, but for the rest of the game they struggle to get even first downs, let alone touchdowns.  If it weren’t for the fact that Westbrook is also a heck of a receiver, he would be the most underutilized starting RB in the league.

The evidence was shown yesterday when Donovan went down and Jeff Garcia, who hadn’t played with the starters at all this season, even in practice, had to come in and run the offense.  He didn’t do poorly, but you could tell that the lack of reps was there, and even though they were working the running game fairly effectively, they still refused to use it.  THAT is what makes for ugly games like the one shown yesterday.

I was born in Delaware, but spent most of my growing up years in SE Pennsylvania. The region – being where it was with Delaware having NO pro sports teams at the time – went mostly with Philly teams, although there were some Baltimore fans thrown into the mix as well. That meant that I followed the Phillies, Flyers and Sixers pretty regularly (well, much less so with the latter, although Dr. J was the man). Strangely, I was a Cowboys fan due to a set of odd circumstances¹, but otherwise I was Philly through and through.

My youth was spent following the classics – Schmidt, Carlton and Luzinski; Clarke, Barber and Lindbergh, Erving, Cunningham and Cheeks. Those were the heydays of Philadelphia sports – the teams were perenially contending, although with only limited Championship success. Between 1974 and 1983, the Philly teams were at or near the top almost all the time:

So, since that 1983 World Series appearance by the Phillies – almost 23 years ago, the composite 4 major pro sports teams in this town have gone to the finals only 6 times (Flyers 3, Sixers 1, Phillies 1, Eagles 1) all resulting in losses, meaning that the 76ers 1982-83 World Championship represents the last parade down ol’ Broad St. 23 years, 91 seasons and exactly ZERO championships. Heck, 7 expansion teams (well, 2 expansion and 5 ‘moved’ teams) have won 8 championships in that time.

It’s not just the dirth of championships – it’s the combination of constant teasing, unfallably coming up short and droughts of even winning seasons. The Philly sports fan has learned to exude unbridled enthusiasm mixed with cautious pessimism, invariably leaning toward the former against all reason and history only to be crushed when the final tick of the clock comes down. From the 3 years of almosts of the Eagles NFC Championships to the endless great Flyers teams who choked without a championship (14 years in the playoffs without one), the spirit of the fan is battered and bruised.

We are a passionate fan base, quick to cheer and apt to boo in equal volumes, harsh to players even that we love, evil those those we dislike but hopelessly loyal to even those mediocre players who show us what we want the most – heart. Rod Brind’Amour, Hugh Douglas and now Chase Utley don’t necessarily produce league star numbers but stand loved by Philly fans because ever game was (or is) at 100%, every game important to their very soul, every emotion raw and open to us. We embrace them as one of us even as we push the prima donnas aside as inconsequential at best, or crucify them from the stands at worse.  We are sometimes fickle but always full of heart.  But we’re also VERY tired.

How long must we suffer through this lack of winning, this utter desperation for a hint of victory.  The playoffs seemed assured in all sports only a few years ago – and even then the teams we love (and love to hate) seemed to fail us in the end.  When they did make it, they were teasing us, giving us false hope only to leave with with the bitter taste of disappointment again.

Where it will end?  No one knows – despite our best efforts to divine a path, a solution, a bit of hope for a roster that doesn’t include 43-year-old castoffs, it hasn’t happened.  So, we anesthetize with cheap beer, cheesesteaks and Wing Bowl, and continue the Philly mantra: “Well, next year we’ll be right in the hunt.  Maybe.”

On Friday, Phillies pitcher Brett Myers was arrested in Boston for allegedly assaulting his wife on a crowded Boston street. There’s little doubt that he did it – it was in the middle of the street in front of multiple witnesses, but technically he is innocent until proven guilty.

There’s no defending the act. None. Beating your wife – or any women – is always reprehensible. But there are good ways and bad ways to deal with the aftermath of the situation, and the only person who did anything right was the Boston police spokesman when he refused to comment on specifics of the case. From the Phillies’ and Myers’ side of things, they couldn’t have done a worse job at dealing with this. Continue reading

I know that it’s early in the season. I know that the Phillies are in the midst of tossing the season down the tubes. And I know that Albert Pujols is injured. But the more I see of Ryan Howard, the more that I like the guy – and think that he might be a major part of the Phillies for some time to come. Continue reading

Amur Leopard
Panthera pardus orientalis

Shari and I went to the zoo today to see if we could add to the donated pictures we are giving to them.

This leopard was beautiful, taking in the attention without really paying too much mind to it. However, I was able to get his focus for just long enough here…

This is Dakota, one of the three new mountain lion cubs at the Philadelphia Zoo. Dakota is the only male, while there are two females, Cinnabar and Sage. All three were extremely cute playing in their enclosure today.

All three were orphaned when their mother was shot during a puma hunt in Montana. Luckily, someone found the cubs or they would have probably starved or become prey for other animals. They ended up here where they will become part of the Zoo’s new carnivore exhibit scheduled to open this summer.

First off, I have to say that I was highly impressed by how well Philly managed to pull off Live 8 on Saturday. The trains were all beautifully managed (well, at least the PATCO side – I heard grumbling about SEPTA), the helpers and city workers were all on the same page, and best of all, the people were all … well, particularly un-Philly like.

We had a caravan (19 people) heading in from Jersey, including 5 teenagers and 5 little kids, and were able to make it to the 2nd big screen with little effort. The trip itself was fun as we got to show off a little of the city – particularly to the kids – while admiring the spectacle around us ourselves. The sights were great to see – people smiling, a great vibe and and around the whole place, the activists, the inactivists, the young, the old, the parents, the practicing to be parents – it was all there to behold and left you with little to do but smile.

Although the shows themselves were a teensy bit disappointing (most of the acts were on for less than 15 minutes), it was still a great time. The Kaiser Chiefs started off very promising, putting on a heck of a set, followed by a very energetic and likeable Black-Eyed Peas. Then Bon Jovi came on to rev up his local crowd.

After that, the ‘show’ started to lose momentum throught the sets of Destiny’s Child and Kayne West who were enjoyable if not exactly pumping up the crowd. However, Will Smith really got everyone into the vibe with his set and pulling at the emotions of his hometown crowd. From there it was a mixed bag – Dave Matthews Band was disappointing, as was Alicia Keys – although the disappointment with her was that she didn’t play longer. Toby Keith was in there, and I remember thinking that he wasn’t bad, if again, not entirely entralling. One of the best sets of the night was that of Linkin Park and Jay-Z. They were energetic, they were fun, they were loud and they probably had the most raw passion of any act there. Awesome – I really need to see them live sometime.

Def Leppard was a joke – they came on late, and to be frank could have missed their set entirely. Many of the later bands like Jars of Clay and Keith Urban were okay but not very memorable. Even Sarah McLachlan was somewhat underimpressive – though her duet with Josh Groban was pretty good. And I think that the last two acts – Maroon 5 and perenially excellent performer Stevie Wonder were both excellent but a bit too short.

In the end, I think that might have been one of the major short-comings of this show – there was no time for the crowd to start getting into the often too-short performances. I wasn’t a fan of some of the acts, but I could have been just as happy relaxing (read:napping) through a 30-45 minute set of Destiny’s Child as I was through a 15-minute set. I see no reason why they couldn’t have taken this show into the evening, and adding some of the other acts that were rumored to be coming (including Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones and most especially Bruce Springsteen. It would have also been nice to see some of the local acts like The Roots or even Love Seed Mama Jump play. Heck, what about a Hooters reunion 20 years later? Okay, maybe not.

Still, the music was only part of the spectacle, and the other part was the people and the environs. We had a good time in that respect – the people-watching was excellent, as my wife’s Flickrstream can attest. There were those out for the Live 8 theme, as well as those out for their own reasons (many of whom really need to take remedial English classes). The food was a bit steep, but not excessively so considering the stranglehold they really had over us – we brought our own drinks and still spent $60+ on food and drink while we were there (did I mention that it was hot).

But in the end, after 8+ hours on the grass along the Ben Franklin Parkway, we were all satisfied with the experience. My son and his friends were enjoying the sun and fun, if not as much the music (not their favorite bands, I guess). My mother-in-law and other newly-met relatives from my wife’s side seemed to be enjoying the Philly area that they were being exposed to. And my new cousins (actually my wife’s cousins, but who’s counting) were having a ball – and made their way into the paper.

Like I said, I had a good time. I can think of ways to make it better, but overall I have to say that the day was a huge success. Philly should be proud of the way that it came off in this thing.

Other opinions
A different view – Village Voice

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You know, there has been a distince lack of originality in entertainment in recent times. Bands are using other bands styles or doing straight covers, NBC raping great comedies from BBC, and most especially in movies, where nearly every movie out this year will be a sequel, a remake or a derivation of a TV Show or book.

When I heard about Live8 coming back to Philly, I was excited – and we are going to have a good line-up, as well. But it struck me today – this is just another example of lack of originality isn’t. After all, isn’t this Live Aid – the Sequel?

But I’ll still be there, nonetheless…

When I went to the Mummers Parade on New Year’s Day, I had the opportunity to get some other great shots as well. Now I’m not a fan of Mayor Street by any stretch of the imagination, but I think that the Philly mural program has to be called a great success. Numerous buildings have been greatly beautified by magnificent murals, some of them in less-than-wonderful areas. Here are some of the ones I saw on our walk through the city.

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For New Years, I did something that I have only joked about in the past – I went to the Mummer’s Parade.

I wouldn’t have gone except for the fact that my brother-in-law, nieces and nephew were all involved with the B. Love comedy troop, so we had to go visit and see what this was all about. Well, I have to admit, it was a lot of fun.

As usual, we were a little late and they were already working their way up Broad St. when we got there. A few hasty photographs and then we had to rush to get to the judging area in front of them. Of course, the judging stand was crowded and I never really got to see them there, so I’m thankful for the pictures I got before then. The troop looked like they were all having a great time, and they eventually placed 2nd in the Comedy Group of the Comedy Division. Not too bad.

Hanging out with them after they were finished allowed my wife, son and mother-in-law to go see more of the parade as we went from bar to bar in the South Philly area. Fado’s, Copa Too! and of course Ray’s Tavern were all stops along the way, as was the parade route to see the string bands as we headed back to their staging area. The weather was gorgeous (Jan. 1 and 60+ degrees), and walking around the city was a lot of fun. I got some great Mummers shots as well as quite a few good shots of the city itself. I haven’t gotten them uploaded, but I’ll update this post when I do.

Here are the pictures of those Mummer folks:

to see more of B. Love, click here.

More more general Mummer’s pictures, visit my flickr set.

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