The True Meaning of Sports
February 17, 2025
As I was basking in the glow of a fabulous championship parade last Friday, I had an epiphany, a sudden moment of clarity that had somehow eluded me for 73 years.
Sports really does matter.
The smiles on literally a million different faces in that deliriously happy crowd provided a lesson on the importance of sports. I cannot think of anything bringing that many people together, from every corner of our city, to celebrate the ultimate success of their beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Now I’m guessing that your reaction to these words is something like: “Duh. You were involved in sports all of those years, and you didn’t know what a big deal it is?”
Actually, yes. I was so busy covering our teams and then talking about them on the radio that I never stopped long enough to gauge their impact on people’s lives.
Remember, I became a sportswriter back when we were called the toy department of newspapers. With a few exceptions along the way, no one died, no new laws were passed, nothing earthshattering happened during games. Sports has always been a diversion – something that provides escape from the real world of monotonous jobs and obnoxious bosses.
In my memoir I define as a pivotal moment in my education the time my advisor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism swore me to secrecy when I revealed my plan to write about sports after I graduated.
Sports? Why waste all of this learning on something so trivial? That was the reaction 48 years ago.
Well, now I can see, more clearly than ever, how wrong-headed that thinking was. Two years into retirement, I understand so much better now the importance of enjoying every day, savoring every happy moment the way those fans did at that epic parade.
Sports has a major role in the psyche of a city, and none more so than here in Philadelphia. For the next few weeks, if not longer, this city will have a bounce in its step and a gleam in its eye, thanks to the Eagles.
It’s a big deal. I just wish it didn’t take me so long to fully grasp its vital role in our lives.
————————————————-
One of the fascinating aspects of winning a championship is how it alters our perception of the people who realized this dream for us – the executives and players. It also has a profound impact on the people on the other sideline, the losers.
Here is my interpretation of how we will regard the biggest names at the Super Bowl after the Eagles’ spectacular rout of Kansas City, 40-22:
Jalen Hurts
Ask Nick Foles how his life changed after he won the Super Bowl in 2018. First of all, he got a statue outside Lincoln Financial Field. Second, he wrote a best-selling book about his life. And third, he has never paid for a meal in Philadelphia since then (I assume.)
There has been a foolish tug-of-war about Hurts since he took over for the pressure-averse Carson Wentz in 2020. Jalen Hurts is everything we could ever want in a franchise quarterback – talented, smart, focused and driven.
For the first time, he showed another side of his personality during the days after the Super Bowl. He even smiled a few times. But the best part is, we know success will not inflate his ego. He cares deeply about winning. And now, finally, he has won the affection of Philadelphia.
Howie Roseman
Like Hurts, the longtime GM has accumulated an army of detractors along the way. But in the past year, after a historic collapse by the Eagles in 2023, he simply had the best season any GM has ever had in Philadelphia sports.
I cringed when the mastermind of this championship got conked on the head with a beer can during the parade. (Hello? Without that head, there is no parade!)
Now the only debate about Howie is be whether he’s the best GM who ever worked in Philadelphia pro sports. If he’s not there already, he’s definitely getting close.
Cooper DeJean and Zack Baun
I couldn’t take my eyes off DeJean during the parade. He’s a rookie, 22 years old, and it was magical to watch his eyes gape out over the mass of jubilant people. Only now does he know how much it mattered when he picked off Patrick Mahomes and ran the ball back for a touchdown. In that moment, our dream of beating the Chiefs became feasible, if not likely.
And I laugh when I hear that Baun, a free agent, may leave for another team this winter. Yeah, right. Why would he leave a city where he’s a hero, where people care so much, for a lesser place? Baun will be back – unless he’s nuts.
The entire defense was majestic in the Super Bowl, starting with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. But my guess is, DeJean and Baun will profit most from their heroics.
Saquon Barkley
Lots of fans think Barkley capped off a historic season with a subpar Super Bowl. This is not true. When Roseman brought the ex-Giants here as a free agent, the GM did so because Barkley is more than just a great runner. Watch the way Saquon blocked during the Super Bowl, foiling the many blitzes dialed by KC coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. He was extraordinary.
Barkley is a winner. We all found that out together once he had finally escaped the dysfunctional Giants.
Brandon Graham
The man affectionately known as BG is a two-time champion now, after a bicep rehab that was so successful, he made it back onto the field for Super Bowl 59.
He is the face of this great era of Eagles football – a truth-telling, personable and courageous representative of the most loved and appreciated team in its long, proud history.
Brandon doesn’t need my advice, but I will provide it here anywhere. He should retire. He should walk away from the game he loves after 15 seasons.
He needs to leave the field as a champion. Because that’s exactly what he is.
Nick Sirianni
The next couple of years will be intriguing to watch because we all know what happened to the only other head coach who won a Super Bowl here – Doug Pederson.
Doug thought winning a championship gave him more power, especially in naming his assistants. He found out otherwise. Three years after the parade, Pederson was gone.
Will Sirianni remain as the consummate yes man, or will he follow a similar path to Pederson, challenging the front office and learning the hard way the limits of his power.
Pederson was a hero in Philadelphia for a year – two at the most. And he was far more highly regarded on the sideline than Sirianni. Nick should embrace this feeling. Recent history shows it will not last forever.
Andy Reid
Reid was unmasked as a fraud during Super Bowl 59, when he had no answers, and no apparent adjustments, while his brilliant quarterback sputtered and stumbled to a 34-0 debacle in the first three quarters. The last time Reid choked this badly was in Super Bowl 39, when he lost track of the clock and was mocked for years afterwards.
In the past six seasons, Mahomes has revitalized Reid’s career by covering up the coach’s many shortcomings. Not this time. In the final moments of the worst loss of his career, Reid was not the jolly commercial spokesman we all saw, ad nauseum, on TV.
All of these years later, I still get angry emails from Reid supporters who don’t understand my contempt for him. They cannot comprehend why I would hate a man who never had enough respect for the fans to answer the simple questions that they were asking.
Hey, if you want to look past his 14 years here of bogus answers and zero championships, good for you. I never will.
And that why, even more than 2018, this is my favorite Philadelphia championship of all time.
Go Birds!!!