As promised, here is the “Special Features, Director's Commentary” section of my Eagles Wrap Up column from yesterday.
PREGAME ACTIVITIES
I started off my Monday evening with the Birds with a quick jaunt down the Broad Street Line to the Sports Complex and met my main man Jones and his brother at McFadden’s at 6. Initially, I was kind of shocked that the place was not more packed. I had heard that Chickie’s & Pete’s was mobbed, but we easily got the table at a bar across the street from the Linc. (Are people that cheap that they don’t want to pay the $5 cover? Or would they rather hang at a place that requires a mile and half walk to the Stadium. If you can’t tailgate, this is a no brainer for me…I’d rather be closer to the Linc.)
We then met up with the benefactor of our evening, D.C. (aka “The Godfather”). D.C. is a big time attorney in Southern California that works with my company. Interestingly, he is about 5’8”, but played big time college football as a wide receiver at UCLA in the mid 80’s. He mentioned that his best friend is Rick Neuheisel (much more on that later) and I even got to check out his Rose Bowl championship ring, which was roughly the size of a hockey puck. I you haven’t gotten the drift, he’s a really cool guy. I also later found out on Tuesday that that the guy has a model wife, drives a Porsche and lives in a mansion somewhere in the O.C. Talk about the American Dream.
Anyhow, it quickly becomes apparent that D.C. must have about 10 tickets for the game as people start showing up out of no where to sit at our table, drink beer and eat. We pound a ton of beers and then we receive the news that B West and Ahman Green were out for the night. At that point, D.C. calls his buddies back West relaying the news and suggests taking the under.
We end our own little happy hour/tailgating session at McFadden’s with a shot of tequila and head towards the stadium at 8 pm. Ok…I realize this was pretty uneventful and sound like a chick writing a diary entry.
STADIUM EXPERIENCE
As I walk into the Stadium, I’m getting pumped to see my first Monday Night Eagles’ game. After we get through the ridiculously long security line, I notice that Mister Greengenes is set up on a stage near the entrance getting the fans all riled up. I then realize they are playing my favorite U2 song, “Where the Streets Have No Name”. Right then, I knew this game was in the bag. Too many forces coming together at once.
After grabbing a few beers, I settle into my seat right before player introductions. What seats these were! I was sitting in Section 118 (on the 25 yard line), Row 24. What an unbelievable view. If I had known I’d be going to the game, I would have brought a camera.
I sat next to D.C. and he regaled me with stories from his days at UCLA. I was shocked to hear that his best bud, and current QB coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Rick Neuheisel isn't impressed a whole lot by one of his bosses who was once deemed as an offensive genius. He also indicated that Neuheisel is hoping to take over for Joe Pa when he eventually retires. By the way, he really did get a raw deal for getting fired for the whole NCAA Tourney Pool scandal. I was also surprised to learn that South Jersey native and former NFL and UCLA star Flipper Anderson is currently in the pokey for failing to pay child support.
Anyhow, here are some quick hit thoughts:
-A lot more chicks come to games at the Linc compared to the Vet. I'm not complaining all that much, but it is definitely not as hard core an atmosphere as there was at the Vet. I would have never brought my wife to a game, now I might reconsider. I do love the tight Eagles jerseys that many of the ladies are wearing....not a bad look at all.
-I love the Eagles cheerleaders uniforms. However, why don't they just put them in bikinis and clear stripper heels and spare us all the aggravation?
-After being in Fenway this summer, I was reminded how close Eagles fans are to Red Sox fans. The tension is palpable and we get way too excited about little things. The only differences are the accents and the fact that they stopped booing their own after winning a title.
-My section was directly below the luxury box that Ryan Howard and J-Roll were seated. If Cleavon Little's character from Blazing Saddles is still wondering "where the white women at?", he needs to look no further than Ryan Howard and J-Roll's box because there were a whole lot of fine looking white women in that box. With 58 home runs, come the spoils.
-One last note that simply cannot forgive the Birds for on this night....The beer stand outside my section ran out of Miller Lite! Oh the HUMANITY!!!!
THE LONG RIDE HOME
The only downer to my night was that I didn't get home until 2 am. For various reasons, my ride home was a complete cluster f*(k. I will spare you the drama except to tell you all that my part of my ride home included driving down 11th Street looking for fat old dudes wearing D Mac jerseys and asking "are you looking for Jake?" Yes, mighty strange indeed, but I did get home in one piece.
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