October 8, 2026
An incident that somehow slipped by most of our local media was the exchange of middle fingers on Sunday between some angry Eagles fans and a couple of Rams assistants sitting above them in a coaching booth at Lincoln Financial Field.
In my WIP days, I would have launched a verbal assault on those coaches the next morning like nothing they would have ever heard from the more benevolent LA media.
How dare you disrespect our team, our fans, our city! In your wildest dreams, you’ve never heard such support for your team! Hey, boys. Here’s one for the road!
At that point, I would start pumping my arms, my middle fingers stabbing the air. Of course, since my medium was radio, this display would be lost on everyone listening.
Hey, what can I say? I’m a method actor.
There are a couple of explanations for why this latest act of disrespect eluded our new and more docile media. Maybe they didn’t want to make more waves in an already turbulent week for the Eagles. Or maybe we have become desensitized to sports figures disrespecting our fans.
The truth is, even though I’m sure I would have turned the volume up in response to the Rams coaches, the real problem nowadays is that our own local sports teams have become increasingly unsupportive of their loyal followers. The disrespect is everywhere these days.
Let’s start with the best example: Cam Jurgens. On Monday, coach Nick Sirianni – who only lies when his lips are moving – assured the media that he was “pleased with where Cam is” despite some painfully obvious recent struggles after the veteran moved from center to guard.
On Wednesday, Sirianni must have been even more pleased with where Cam was: Baltimore. The Eagles traded him for a couple of draft picks, including a second-rounder in 2028.
Kudos to GM Howie Roseman, who found a sucker to take a highly-paid veteran ($17 mill a year) who is in serious decline.
Unfortunately, the debacle on the offensive line goes well beyond Jurgens and the recently-retired Lane Johnson. Chris Kuper, whose offensive line last season in Minnesota allowed 60 sacks, second-most in the NFL, is here in the same role only because of his friendship with Mannion. Let’s all hope they can resume their friendship in another city next season.
People may not be noticing the latest evidence of Sirianni disrespecting the fans this season because he is hardly alone in figuratively giving the city the finger.
How about LeBron James? Is anyone enjoying his first few weeks as a Sixer? How charming is it that reporters can literally hear his helicopter whirring on the roof of the practice facility in Camden as he leaves Philadelphia behind to commute to his beloved home in New York City? Among his many high-priced advisors, which genius thought it was a good idea for him not to live here, and to flaunt the copter flights?
Oh, and now we have a new complication. Apparently, LeBron’s tab for the copter is being absorbed by Fanatics, the global digital sports platform that has a part-ownership in the Sixers. For around $1 million a year, Fanatics is flying James in and out of the city at his whim, a perk that appears to be circumventing the NBA salary cap.
Regardless, Sixer aficionados are going to have to wait a bit longer before they actually see the all-time great LeBron play. He was ruled out of the first preseason game because of load management – even though he hadn’t played in over four months.
Hey, at least he took the trouble to copter in for the game. In fact, he was proudly wearing a Phillies hat when he arrived. Maybe the Phils can slip him a few bucks, too.
Meanwhile, I don’t know about anybody else, but the optimism over our Flyers after their strong finish to last season seems to be in short supply right now, too. Not only did the team lose its first four games – including a 7-0 demolition by Pittsburgh in Philly’s home opener – but the urgency of building on last season’s success seems, well, not so urgent after all.
GM Danny Briere, whose news conferences could be an effective alternative to waterboarding as a torture technique, set the tone even before the start of the season when he did all he could to tamp down expectations.
“There’s a chance – and a good chance – that we take a little bit of a step back this year,” he said. “We are ready for that.”
Really? Maybe he should ask his fans if they are also ready to accept a step back. After all, it’s been 51 years since the Flyers won a Stanley Cup. What’s another year . . . or three? If Briere weren’t a member of the organization for so long, that spineless comment would maybe be defensible.
But he knows the city well. There’s no excuse.
And let’s not leave the Phillies out of this inventory of disrespect for the fans. After yet another face-plant in the playoffs, there was speculation – only by me – that the organization would have to take a hard look at the six-year, ringless tenure of 72-year-old baseball executive Dave Dombrowski.
I mean, even a blithering moron could see that the bullpen Dombrowski created with a $300-million payroll was in shambles by the end of the regular season. All four starters were relegated to relief roles they had served not once during the regular season. The only time most of the actual relievers got up was to relieve themselves.
This is bad roster-building, no?
Apparently not. In fact, while disgusted fans were emoting everywhere on social media, word leaked from the best baseball media source, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, that Dombrowski will soon be rewarded for accomplishing nothing here.
“Dave Dombrowski’s coming back,” Nightengale said on local radio the other day. “In fact, he’ll get an extension sometime this winter.”
Hilarious! The Phillies are going to stick to the same tired, failed formula in 2027, too. When do tickets for next season go on sale? I’m counting the days.
I’ve said it many times before, and I will say it until my final breath. The pro teams in Philadelphia do not show enough respect to a fan base that is resilient, passionate, loyal and forgiving. The organizations don’t give a damn about the people who buy the tickets, wear the jerseys, bolster the TV ratings, and create an atmosphere that promotes success.
Hey, hold on. Here’s some breaking news, I hear that Major League Baseball is facing an almost certain lockout next spring. Neither the owners nor players feel they are rich enough. They both want a lot more money.
The fans?
Oh, yeah, the fans.
Bleep them.
What I’m saying here is that those Rams coaches who gave us the finger were speaking for a lot of people who have no respect for the poor souls who love sports. They were making a clear and honest statement.
Here’s my best advice if the fans are looking for the proper response.
Bleep you, too.
Some other line items. . . . .
- Maybe it’s just my twisted mind, but I find myself connecting the abrupt retirement of Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson to the departure of his only NFL position coach, Jeff Stoutland. Initially, Lane planned to retire last year both because of his mental struggles and because he has had a father-son relationship with the legendary line coach. In the end, Johnson tried playing one more year, but he left the team for a week in training camp and then again on the morning of the Rams game. Would Lane still be there if Jeff was? I vote yes.
- Stoutland offered a poignant message of appreciation to Johnson earlier this week, but deep down you know the coach has to be having a good laugh at what has happened since he was forced out by Sirianni after last season. Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone. Although, in Sirianni’s case, it will probably take a while longer.
- And speaking of Stoutland, his replacement, Chris Kuper, continues to dazzle no one with the once-elite offensive line he inherited. A bust in Minnesota, Kuper got the job here because of his friendship with another underachiever so far this season, offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Want to know why the Tush Push doesn’t work so well anymore? You can start with the coaching.
- After Markel Bell’s first game as a rookie right offensive tackle, the Eagles were piling on the praise for the third-round draft pick, who will now take over for the retired Lane Johnson. That’s odd because on my TV Bell was close to awful. The stat sheet said he allowed a team-high six pressures and was at least partially responsible for three of the four sacks allowed. Again, you have a choice of listening to the BS after every game or of using your own eyes.
- Sean Mannion is nothing if not stubborn. After the Eagles’ historic 0-for-12 performance on third downs against the Rams, he said he is planning no major changes. “It is what I believe in,” he said. And why shouldn’t he? His philosophy in high school, college and now the pros, both as a player and coach, has won him . . . . hold on while I count . . . . exactly zero championships so far. You can’t argue with success like that, can you?