Why Philadelphia Eagles Fans Want Donovan McNabb To Fail

Over the last few months I’ve seen a myriad of reactions to the McNabb trade.  Most fans respect him for what he did for the Philadelphia franchise, but do they want him to succeed for the Redskins?

Not a chance.  In fact, I believe they want him to fail miserably.

Why? 

It goes beyond the simple fact that he plays for a division foe. There are a few things that just rubbed fans the wrong way. First and foremast is his strange game-day personality. For instance, there was the incident when he picked up the press box telephone on the sidelines in Giant Stadium.

He had this to say about it in the upcoming GQ magazine interview,

"Really, it was just kind of a spur of the moment. I got pushed out of bounds and I looked over and saw a couple of guys I knew on the bench, and I picked up the phone and was like, "Hey, how are you doing, everything all good?" 

He was asked if he was fined for that and he says, "That's just not me, either.”

Another example is when he played the hit single "I'm Aloof" on his air guitar prior to the Wild Card playoff game in Cowboys Stadium. These types of antics eventually drove Philadelphia fans nuts. For whatever reason, come Sunday McNabb just seemed to be a different person.

At no point in his 11 years as a field general did he get fired up with a teammate.  No matter what the situation in a season or game, McNabb always went out of his way to communicate a laid back approach.

Fans grew tired of his oddball behavior and desperately wanted to see some emotion out of their leader.

Secondly, there was his determination to be known as a pocket passer. There were countless times when he chose to pass when he could have easily got a first down with his legs without any danger of contact. This nullified a great chance to keep defenses honest while using the full extent of his capabilities.

This all stemmed from the fact that he was bothered by the label of a "running quarterback."

But, perhaps the most puzzling aspect of McNabb in his time in Philadelphia was his decision to keep his guard up at all times.   It did not seem to matter if it was in a press conference or postgame interview, Mcnabb always took the high road and kept things to himself. It did not seem to matter if it was Rush Limbaugh, T.O., drafting Kolb, or getting benched in Baltimore.

However, he has now come out in GQ magazine and complained about the organization for not publicly supporting him: “We sat down and talked, and I got everything off my chest from '99 on.

"It went all the way back to the T.O. situation, it went back to us not winning big games, me being criticized for whatever, leadership, whatever it may be, and how no one in the organization ever stepped up and said anything. They'll say something to you in the building, but not publicly.

"My feeling was, 'I'm out here getting cut up, where are you? I'm always defending and helping you guys, but where's that support?' I thought it was beneficial, because you can sit there and tell somebody you truly love them, you're a big fan, your family loves you, but what about when we're over here in the hot seat, where are you now?

For the cameras, McNabb said all the right things one has come to expect from a superstar athlete.   Protect the image.  Protect the brand.  For this he is to be applauded.  Many other athletes would have taken the bait on at least one of those topics. 

Yet, in every single soap opera that he was involved with, leaked reports would come out with an entirely different position from McNabb.  A contrasting story would always surface that did not correlate with his public statements.

So after all these years, do Eagles fans still support him as the leader of a division rival?

Fat chance.

McNabb is currently wearing a boot and nursing his first injury as a Redskin. I say first, because Eagles fans know it won’t be his last.   

And when he returns to Philly, don’t expect a red carpet ceremony. Those days are still years away.

Instead, you will hear a wave of Bronx cheers and hysterical laughter every time he throws a ball in the dirt.

For Philadelphia fans, they endured 11 years of coming up short. 

You can bet that the last thing they want to see is him lifting the Lombardi Trophy for another jersey.