The favored Philadelphia Eagles were not able to come from behind in Sunday’s NFC Title Game, falling to the Arizona Cardinals, 32-25. The Eagles went to halftime down 18, but fought back and took a one point lead with about seven minutes left to go. Now, in who’s direction should the Iggle faithful look when placing blame for the loss? The more observant of the bunch would mention one or more of these guys: Jim Johnson, who couldn’t devise a scheme to keep the Cardinals under 32 points. The defensive backs, who couldn’t hinder what Larry Fitzgerald was doing even if they were all outfitted like this guy. Or even Brian Westbrook, who again, failed to be a factor for the second straight week. But the average Eagles fan points the finger at one guy. Number five. Divisional Round Donovan. The guy who threw for 375 yard with three touchdowns, ran for an additional 31 yards and absolutely put the team on his back in the second half. There is always plenty of blame for D-Mac. Let’s take a look back:
Giving Up Joe Carter’s World Series Winning Homerun
Hard to believe that this happened 15 years ago. So long ago, in fact, that many don’t remember that the homer was given up by fireballing reliever, Donovan “Wild Thing” McNabb. The Phillie fans that did remember this moment roundly booed McNabb at the 1999 NFL Draft, before he had even suited up for the team.
Framing Louis Winthorpe III
After Rocky, Trading Places is the best movie set in Philadelphia. Fans of the movie would swear that Clarence Beeks (ably played by legendary film bad guy, Paul Gleason) was the one who framed Winthorpe. Yet, new found photographic evidence now shows that it was McNabb. McNabb’s actions led to the disolution of the venerable brokerage house of Duke and Duke.
Causing Eric Lindros’s Rash of Concussions
Few teams were more dominant than the Flyers in the 1970’s. The won the Stanley Cup twice in the decade and made the finals two other times. After trading for Eric Lindros in 1992, the Flyers were expected dominate the 90’s. Though Lindros was extremely effective with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg on the Legion of Doom Line, his career in Philly was plagued by near constant concussions. The cause of the concussions, well, I’m sure you could figure that out on your own by now.
Firing Andrew Beckett
Andrew Beckett was a promising associate at Wyatt, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow and Brown. That is, until he was fired for being a homosexual living with AIDS. Who was the intolerant member of the firm that called for his dismissal? Some would blame Senior Partner, Charles Wheeler, but we all know who the real culprit was, pulling the strings, behind closed doors, amongst a slew of other secrety metaphors.
Ruining Hall and Oates Freight Train Run of Hits
Hall and Oates, easily the best band to come out of Philadelphia, once owned pop music. From 75-85, they had such hit songs as Sara Smile, Private Eyes and Rich Girl. The world was at their fingertips, then they ran into Donovan McNabb at a 1985 party. McNabb convinced the duo to get away from the Rock and Soul style they pioneered and move towards synth jazz. Who knows what kind of hits they could have come up with had they never run into the Eddie Mush of the music scene?
