As a fan of the Green Bay Packers, the term “fourth and 28” will forever be etched into my memory. It was two years ago that the Philadelphia Eagles took out the Green and Gold in the second round of the playoffs thanks to a miracle play that never should have been.
I really don’t like the Eagles.
And I say “don’t like” simply because my true feelings regarding Philly’s football team aren’t really fit to print here.
I also don’t have a whole lot of patience for grandstanders, hot dogs and show offs. And, seeing as how the biggest grandstander in football, possibly in sports, plays for the Eagles now, it just adds fuel to the fire that is my hatred for the Eagles.
From the Sharpie incident, to the pom-pom routine, to the ugly display at midfield in Dallas a few years back, Terrell Owens has been a marked man as far as the media is concerned … for good reason.
All that said, I couldn’t help but admire Owens’ performance in last weekend’s Super Bowl. All the pregame hype aside, T.O. had one heck of a game given the circumstances.
Granted, I was more than happy to see the Eagles lose the big game, underdogs or not. But to even get on the field in the Super Bowl less than two months removed from a surgery that left two screws and a metal plate in his right ankle, T.O. deserves a thumbs up from sports fans everywhere.
And he didn’t just trot out on the field a la Willis Reed – he made plays. McNabb went to Owens on the second play from scrimmage and the former Niner delivered with a nice grab, one of nine catches on the day for 122 yards, including a beautiful 30-yard reception.
What’s more, Owens handled himself masterfully after the game. He didn’t try to make himself look like a hero because he had just played in the biggest game of his life with a serious ankle injury. He let everyone know that he was just doing his job. He was able to play and so he played. Simple as that.
Now, back to hating the Eagles. Who exactly does Freddie Mitchell think he is anyway?
While most of the media action in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl focused on Owens and whether or not he would be used as a “decoy,” Mitchell made a total debacle of himself by calling out New England’s hard-hitting safety Rodney Harrison.
If Mitchell didn’t know any of the New England secondary players by name going into last Sunday’s game, he probably does now.
Nothing like allowing your mouth to write a check that your ability can’t cash.
Mitchell was a non-factor and then some in Super Bowl XXXIX. One catch. One measly catch for 11 yards with the game pretty much in the bag for the Patriots at 2:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Harrison, on the other hand, had a brilliant game.
The Patriots’ safety, as calm and collected as an athlete could be on this stage, asserted himself early with an interception of McNabb in the red zone. Harrison came up limping after the play but ended up missing only one snap as a result.
Maybe Freddie the loud mouth should spend a couple of weeks sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber for a much-needed attitude adjustment. If it worked for a high-profile superstar like Owens, it couldn’t hurt a role player like Mitchell.
Josh Staloch is the Sports Editor of the Hollister Free Lance. E-mail him at js******@***********ws.com
