Eagles' Playoff Run Taking Cues from Phillies' Title

Okay, I know the first thing you are going to ask is, "What does this sandwich have to do with the Eagles?" The answer is nothing, but it sure looks delicious and well-diagrammed.

Anyway, I wanted to write about the analogies that sports commentators use for any successful team in any sport. This year's Philadelphia Eagles are their own team.

There have been many comparisons lately between the Eagles and the Giants this past year. The main difference is that Philly is a wild card that is going to win all road games in the playoffs, but as a Philadelphia fan should know, they are simply doing it the Eagle way.

Just as the Phillies got into the MLB playoffs only in the last few games the last two years (ha ha Mets fans...I hate New York fans), these Eagles needed Jesus Christ to come to earth and slay the Chuckie doll himself.

With a highly unlikely chance (I heard it was a five percent chance mathematically by strength of schedule), this team that was just learning each player's role snuck into the playoffs by bulldozing and embarrassing my least favorite team, the Cowboys. Great game.

The team that the Eagles remind me of is right across the street from them at Citizens Bank Park. That's right—remember a few years ago when everyone wanted Charlie Manuel gone? Now he is a world champion.

The Phillies were the definition of a team last year. You could watch them and just tell that they were completely in sync with each other. Each player knew his role, be it Howard, Dobbs, or that Hawaiian guy who went in for Pat Burrell late in the games, and they all knew what they needed to do.

This year's Eagles team is the most complete football team I have seen in a while. I am not talking about talent. I mean that these players have heart, the most prized X-Factor in sports—something that does not come with skill or big-money free agents. (Just ask the Yankees of late.)

The biggest X-factor of all is Brian Dawkins. I suggest that if you have never heard him speak, you look him up. He is the definition of a good leader: respectful, religious, intense, emotional, and inspirational.

I think that Philadelphia appreciates these types of championships more—championships that are won with more heart than skill and talent.

That seems to be the direction that another Philadelphia team is headed...see you at the parade.