The "An Individual Can Make A Difference, But A Team Makes A Miracle-Coach Doug Pederson" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The hoopla is just about over, but the memories of the Eagles winning the LII Super Bowl will be with me forever.  My Philadelphia Eagles have finally won the big one. Watched the parade and celebration yesterday and realize I'm not the only one who loves the Eagles.  Tried to spot my nephew in the crowd, but couldn't find him amongst the two million other people. Its been 58 years since the Philadelphia Eagles last won a football championship.  Back in 1960, before there was a Super Bowl, the Eagles were champions of the National Football League when they beat the Green Bay Packers 17-13.  I was a young boy in 10th grade whose only dream was to turn 16, get his driver's license and have a neat car.  But, early that year my favorite professional football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won the National Football League.  I was so excited...until I saw the next neat car and my mind changed from football to cars.  The Philadelphia franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the Frankford Yellow Jackets which went bankrupt.  

The Eagles early logo.

The early edition of the Eagles won champion- ships in 1948 when the beat the Chicago Cardinals 7-0, again the following year when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 and then a 17-13 win over the Packers in 1960.  So its been almost 60 years since they are champions once again.  Since that time there have been a number of Eagles who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Brian Dawkins, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, "Greasy" Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen and Norm Van Brocklin.  Philadelphia has always been a very passionate football hotbed and consistently ranks in the top in attendance.  They have sold out their stadium every game since 1999 and rank as having some of the most intimidating fans in the NFL.  The team first played at Baker Bowl until moving to Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, now called John F. Kennedy Stadium, and then moved to Shibe Park which was later named Connie Mack Stadium.  

Lincoln Financial Field logo.

In 1957 the team moved to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsyl- vania which held 60,000 fans rather than the 39,000 at Connie Mack.  In 1969 Franklin Field became the first NFL stadium to install AstroTurf.  Finally, the team moved to Lincoln Financial Field and played their first game there on September 8, 2003.  The "Linc" can holds 68,532 screaming Philadelphia Eagles fans!  The current owner of the team is Jeffrey Laurie who bought the team from Norman Braman on May 6, 1994 for $184 million.  Today the Eagles are valued at $1.314 billion, the 17th most valuable sports team and according to me, the most spirited and obnoxious at times team.  I have watched the Eagles play under coaches Earle "Greasy" Neale, Buck Shaw, Joe Kuharich and  Jerry Williams.  Then Dick Vermeil took over and led them to the 1981 Super Bowl against the Oakland Raiders which they lost.  Buddy Ryan added a fiery attitude to the mix of coaches and was followed by Rich Kotite.  

The latest Eagle's logo.

One of my favorites was Andy Reid who became head coach in 1999 and took the Eagles to the playoffs the following year.  He eventually took them to the Super Bowl in 2008 where they lost to the Patriots as Carol and I watched while sitting in a sports bar on the island of St. Martin.  Andy became the 5th coach in NFL history to win 100 or more games with a single team in a single decade.  But, he couldn't win the big one.  Chip Kelly took over and he too couldn't win.  Then in 2016 a guy by the name of Doug Pederson was hired.  Not too long ago he was a high school coach.  He became Reid's offensive coordinator at Kansas City.  Took him two years to do what no other coach in Eagles history could do...win the Super Bowl.  The Philadephia Eagles have a storied history with many great players and a few good coaches, but this year's team will stand out in everyone's mind as perhaps the best ever since they won it all!  What's next?  A repeat!  We will see.  One thing for sure, the fans will fill the stands just as they have for years and years.  As for me, I'm thinking Super Bowl again!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of a ordinary guy.