Fly Eagles Fly - Season Preview Pt 1

As a new convert to the Philadelphia Eagles, I feel like a bit of a gatecrasher.  I've done my research and read up on the history of the franchise, I've got a shiny new t shirt, I'm a British Eagle and I've used Gamepass to watch plenty of games from the last three seasons.

However, what I haven't got, are the emotional scars from watching a team that has never won a Superbowl. Even the last few years have provided plenty of head in hands moments - Andy Reid's timekeeping, Vince Young's press conference proclamations and various Post Season heartaches.  I've got a clean slate and a team that look in great shape. So if the Eagles win the Vince Lombardi Trophy will I get the same buzz as a lifelong fan?  Clearly I can't answer that - although hopefully I'll be able to in February - but I'm definitely feeling very excited and nervous about the Eagles upcoming campaign.

In fact, I'm most excited about the Week 1 trip to Cleveland.  Sure it's not the biggest, sexiest fixture of the season and on paper it should be a straightforward road win, but I can't wait to discover how I'll react during the game. I'm hoping that I'll be getting excited (no, not like that!), nervous and totally immersed in the game. I'd hate to think that I'll be ambivalent in proceedings and not really that bothered about the outcome, but I'll have to wait until next Sunday to find out!

And how do I think the Eagles will do this year?  Maybe it's due to the lack of scars, but I'm actually quite optimistic. On paper, we've got one of the strongest rosters in the NFL, the Defence looks formidable and there are a number of excellent offensive playmakers in the squad.  I have a few concerns around QB Michael Vick - can he stay fit? Is he accurate enough to be a SuperBowl calibre QB?  But, every team will have some concerns going into the season, so I'm not unduly worried.

Another problem for the Eagles is the difficult schedule that has been handed to them.  I've read a lot of articles and forum posts complaining about this.  Personally, I don't really care what the schedule is - if the Eagles are to win the SuperBowl they will need to beat the best the NFL has to offer.  So why not do it in the Regular Season?  Beating the likes of Baltimore and Atlanta will also hinder their Play Off hopes, which can only be a good thing.

Perhaps the biggest problem the Eagles have every season is that they are in one of the strongest Divisions in the NFL.  The NFC East contains the defending SuperBowl champions, the always strong Dallas Cowboys plus the RGIII enhanced Washington Redskins. That's 6 tricky fixtures and, in an always tight Division, they will go a long way to deciding who makes the Post Season.  I'm sure a lot of Eagles fans approach these games with a sense of dread and foreboding, personally I can't wait!

Having read and watched so much about the likes of Vick, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson etc, it'll be great to finally cheer them on and watch them in live action.  In the past, the Eagles have been criticized for having too many star names, but the way I see it is that they are star names for a reason.  Yes, it can be a challenge getting them to gel, but that's a hell of lot easier than getting a load of journeymen to take your franchise to the next level.

Of course, there are a number of other teams who will be in the mix and I'll be bringing you my full set of predictions in the next few days.  Suffice to say that the likes of New England, Green Bay and Houston will all be serious threats, but I don't see anything that the Eagles will be scared off.  Perhaps I'm being naive, perhaps I'm far too new to this game or perhaps I'm just blinded by excitement - but I'm seriously confident about the Eagles prospects this season. Which, after 20 years supporting Gillingham FC, is a pretty strange feeling!

Next up, I'll be making my predictions for the new season - who will make the Post Season, who will be MVPs and which players will be arrested after an incident at a nightclub?  Then, it's time for the season to begin.  Let's hope my optimism isn't misplaced!

PreSeason Blues & London 2012

Along with many people around the country, I've found the last 2 weeks of sport inspiring, emotional, exciting and full of memorable moments.  I've been lucky enough to have spent 4 days at the Olympics (Although I didn't do as well in the ticket ballot as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!) and have been blown away by the whole thing.  Behind the TV scenes, the organisation is impeccable, the Volunteers are immensely friendly and the atmosphere around the Park is better then anything I've experienced at any other sporting event.  But it's been in the arenas that I've been completely amazed at the desire to win, effort and sporting ability on show.  The dedication of the athletes is fantastic and I've enjoyed reading the back stories of some of the competitors.

Perhaps my favorite has been double Gold winning cyclist Laura Trott - her collapsed lung, asthmatic and vomit strewn story has been well documented.  The fact that she has been through so much and continues to put her body through such immensely difficult events has been one of the stories of the Games.  Add to that the fact she's always so happy and seemingly loving the whole experience and it perfectly encapsulates what I love about sport - desire to win, skill, effort and dedication.

Sankuru - She moved at a similar speed
during the race!

At the other end of the ability spectrum, I watched the first round of the women's 1500m. The second heat was won by GB's Lisa Dobriskey, so naturally enough the stadium was a cacophony of noise.  however, an even bigger cheer was reserved for an athlete from the Congo by the name of Chancel Ilunga Sankuru. She crossed the line a full 52 seconds after Dobriskey and had spent most of the race running round on her own at a pace that could loosely be described as a slow jog.  But as she crossed the line to a massive cheer, it flashed up on the screen that she had just ran a personal best for the event!  Without wishing to sound patronizing, she was doing her very best and had achieved something that had previously been beyond her.  In short, it encapsulated the oft mentioned "Olympic Spirit".

However, in spite of all that, I've got no desire to watch Trott or Sankuru train.  I don't want to watch them put in the endless hours of practice that helps them achieve their goals.  I just want to watch the end product.  Athletes performing to the best of their ability and doing amazing things in competitive events.

One of my "30 Things to Do" is to watch an Eagles PreSeason match in its entirety.  It's actually one of the easy tasks on my list, but in many ways it's one I'm really not looking forward to.  You see, PreSeasons are also one of my Pet Hates in sport.

2 weeks ago I attended my first ever PreSeason football friendly. It was between Ebbsfleet and Gillingham.  I won't bore you with why I joined 914 other souls in the sun, but there I was inside a ground that hadn't been touched since World War 2.  In fairness it was an OK game, but the bottom line was that nobody (including the players) gave a toss who won.  Goals were greeted with polite applause from fans and half hearted high fives from players. Substitutes sat around sunbathing and I spent most of the second half in the bar watching the men's cycling road race.  I realise PreSeason is vital for players in building up fitness and fine tuning tactics, but personally, I just want to see the end product.

It's a similar story in the NFL. The 4 weeks of PreSeason are full of players being benched, half empty stadiums and a host of players just going through the motions.  Nobody cares who wins, the results have no bearing on the Regular Season and we will learn very little about team's plans for the year.  In short, it's not what I want from my sport watching experience.  It's the Regular Season that I'm excited about, when the best players in the world (and the Washington Redskins) do battle and play to the best of their abilities.
So, at some point over the next 4 weeks I'll be ticking my "Watch a PreSeason game" box (probably week 4) but I'd much rather be watching the likes of Trott and Sankuru.

In fact, I've been so inspired by the last 2 weeks that I want to "Get Involved", I had such admiration for all the "Games Makers" that I wished I'd put myself down as one.  So after I get back from holiday (St Petersburg if you're interested) I'm going to look into how I can do some voluntary work within UK sport. Who knows, it might even make for an interesting blog topic.

Of course, I'll still be writing about the Eagles and watching their run to the SuperBowl!  Starting with that vital PreSeason game with the Jets in 3 weeks time!