Five Reasons Eagles Fans Will Boo Mcnabb Out Of The Stadium
The much talked about return of Donovan Mcnabb is still more than 72 hours away, but the homecoming has already been discussed to death. Will the fans jeer or cheer? Did Reid do the right thing? Would you rather have Vick or Mcnabb? What about Kolb?
Some of these questions will be answered on Sunday and some will not. However, one thing is certain--Eagles fans are going to boo Mcnabb...a lot.
Whether they should or not is irrelevant. Regardless of how you feel about Mcnabb overall, not many Eagles fans know how they will feel come Sunday. A lot of mixed emotions and rational thought will be flushed down the toilet once Mcnabb takes the field.
Here are five reasons why Eagles fans will live up to their reputation and welcome home Mcnabb with a boatload of boos.
5: He's Not Michael Vick
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If Kevin Kolb was starting this game the circus surrounding Mcnabb's return would be entirely different. It's safe to say that Kolb would not be playing lights out football the way Michael Vick is right now. Coming off a concussion and playing behind a suspect offensive line would have given the golden boy serious problems.
Last year when rumors circled about the possibility of trading Mcnabb, there were a lot of people warning Eagles fans telling them 'be careful what you wish for'. Kolb had big shoes to fill if Philadelphia was going to move on quickly and forget about number five.
Instead, Vick is the toast of the town and has pundits discussing early MVP talk. When they see Vick use his legs to get a first down or scramble in for a touchdown they think to themselves, "Why did Donovan stop doing that?"
In the early years, Mcnabb would talk about how he was bothered by the label "running quarterback" and the historical negative connotations that went along with it.
This drive to dispel a label ultimately cost him as teams no longer game-planned around his ability to scramble up field and an incredible weapon was put on the shelf.
Instead of running seven yards for an easy first down, he preferred to throw it at his receiver's feet.
Many Eagles fans will enter the Linc on Sunday with the attitude "Mcnabb who?". Confidence is high in Philly and not many fans are criticizing the organization for dealing Donovan.
4: Its a 4PM Start Time
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Think what you will about the goodwill of many Eagles fans. After 7 hours of tailgating, most of that goodwill be will washed away with Redbull and Vodkas. The fans will have a three extra hours to get that nervous energy going because of the later start time. Many fans will enter the stadium with good intentions, but once the boos begin to rain down a lot of them will get caught up in the moment. This phenomenon is known as emotion contagion. Individuality gets lost and the prevailing emotion of a crowd sweeps over the majority. The feeling of wanting to win the game will take precedence and the line in the sand will be drawn.
3: Mcnabb Is a Redskin
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This is fairly obvious. Forget the fact that Mcnabb is on another team. Reid added extra spice to this scenario by trading him within the division. Booing Mcnabb will feel even more natural because he is leading a hated team onto the field. There will be no love-loss between either team and the fans will let him know just what they think of him playing for the Redskins.
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4: Mcnabb's Act Wore Thin in Philadelphia
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Donovan might had great moments on the field, but after 11 years many fans began to tire of his ways.
There are countless examples, but his strange gameday personality was chief among them. Whether it was incidents like picking up the press box telephone on the sidelines in Giant Stadium or playing the hit single "I'm Aloof" on his air guitar prior to the Wild Card playoff game in Cowboys Stadium, fans began to grow weary of his antics. He never took charge of the team when they needed a boost and went out of his way to let the world know he was always laid back.
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 post-game interview, Mcnabb always took the high road. Publicly, Mcnabb said all the right things one has come to expect from a superstar athlete. Protect the image. Protect the brand. Yet, in every single soap opera that he was involved with, leaked reports would come out with an entirely different position from Mcnabb.
Eventually, enough was enough and not many fans objected to the idea of trading him. Once the honeymoon period is over in Washington, do not be surprised if these issues begin to resurface in his new home town.
5: Mcnabb Never Won a Superbowl
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Yes it's true that Mcnabb plays for a division rival, the fans are quite happy with his replacement, and they will have more than enough liquid courage in them to voice their discontent, but the main reason fans will be booing on Sunday boils down to one simple fact--he never won a Superbowl.
Imagine if Donovan did win a Superbowl? He could come back as a Cowboy in week one, a Giant in week 2, and a Redskin in week 3 and the fans would still love him. It would not matter because he would have delivered to the fans what they have been craving the most. A championship.
The fact that he never achieved the ultimate goal has left this town unfulfilled. The page has been turned and Mcnabb is yesterday's news. This will be the underlying emotion driving the bronx cheers on Sunday.
One day when he retires, he will get the respect and cheers that he fully deserves, but that day is a long ways away and right now fans are swept up in the current hoopla. Emotions are like confetti and when they get thrown around it takes a while for them to settle back down. October 3rd, 2010 is far too soon to expect a calm response from Eagles fans. Right now they are still looking for confetti to fall for another reason and it won't be Mcnabb who gets them there.
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