May 09, 2016
Sam Bradford has never really seen the ugly side of the Eagles’ fan base. He was so unremarkable in his first season here -- so boring, really – that the customers offered very little reaction, pro or con, to his typically mediocre work.
Well, the quiet in Bradford’s world is about to shatter. In the past week, he has managed to energize the fans in a way his lackluster play has never done, here or elsewhere. This city is no longer apathetic toward the Eagles quarterback.
Philadelphia hates Sam Bradford.
There are many reasons for this emotion, of course. First of all, he will earn $18 million this year but, until today, he refused to join his teammates in off-season workouts. A blue-collar city doesn’t appreciate an able-bodied person shirking work. Second, he still hasn’t offered a logical justification for his pouting.
And third, the biggest reason, is that our city loathes cowardice. Bradford’s whining – through his agent, Tom Condon – that he doesn’t want to compete for the starting job against top draft pick Carson Wentz is infuriating. A sense of entitlement in this demanding city is as welcome as a Cowboys jersey.
What has made Bradford’s idiotic strategy to force a trade even more damaging is the way he has acted in his one year as an Eagle. This is not exactly a fan-friendly player, even under the best of circumstances.
In fact, since being drafted as the No. 1 pick in 2010, Bradford has acted like a superstar everywhere except on the field. He rarely makes public appearances, refuses most interview requests, offers clichés when he does speak and has an air of superiority that usually ends right around 1 p.m. on Sundays in the fall.
Bradford has never cared at all about his image, but he will now – because he is going to get a Philadelphia reception that will curl his hair and shake his soul. I know this because I have been doing something over the past week that neither Bradford nor his agent has ever done. I’ve been talking to the fans.
The best example I can offer of just how livid the paying customers are right now is woman named Shirley Dash, a 40ish devotee whose worship for the Eagles is second only to her Christian beliefs. Shirley leads my WIP radio audience in cheers after wins, props up spirits after losses, and urges kindness at all times.
Last Friday, Shirley Dash said if Sam Bradford was in her vicinity, she would boo right in his face. Please understand; Shirley doesn’t boo Eagles. Even the worst of the busts – Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray, Nnamdi Asomugha, Freddie Mitchell, Danny Watkins – never had to face Shirley’s wrath.
Why is Bradford in the crosshairs of our city right now the way none of those other disappointments ever were? They all competed. None of them agreed to take $22 million in guaranteed money over the next two years and then refused to compete for their jobs.
Bradford’s return today is no surprise. Just go back and listen to Condon stammer through a question about whether his client would give some money back to go elsewhere.
“Ah, er, uh, I think I’d better hold off on any questions about the cash,” he said.
Sam Bradford didn’t make $100 million in the NFL by walking away from any big paydays.
Unfortunately for him, Bradford will not find the same Philadelphia he left last winter. Sam Bradford is about to discover, first-hand, how Philadelphia treats a coward.
***
Where is the proof? That’s the only question that matters after eight umpires – four in St. Louis and four in New York – conspired to ruin a baseball game for the Phillies last week.
After an implausible delay of 5 minutes and 42 seconds, these beleaguered men in blue ruled via TV replay that a foul ball was actually fair, even though none of the several angles available offered tangible evidence that the line drive had actually hit the third base line, triggering a rally that dissolved a 4-0 Phillies lead.
Later, the sharp-eyed crew in the NY offices – MLB never likes to identify the people by name – instructed the Phillies announcing teams that the league had an angle that was not available to viewers and resolved the disagreement. The ball was fair, they claimed.
OK, fine. Let’s see it. Is it asking too much that a sport demanding higher and higher prices for its tickets, service fees, parking, food, apparel and cable TV have enough respect for fans to prove what appeared to be a terrible decision?
And one more thing. Since the replay rule insists that the view must provide ‘indisputable evidence” that the original call was wrong, how is it possible that the umps needed almost six minutes to rule on this clear proof? Can anything truly be indisputable that requires that much time?
The outcry after that Phillies’ loss did nothing to alter the absurd stand of the sport that its system is working just fine, thank you. Starter Adam Morgan was required to stand on the mound for close to six minutes, losing the rhythm of his shutout form, in a system that is working beautifully?
Despite their recent success, the Phillies are not destined to make a playoff run this season; we already knew that before they that replay debacle last Wednesday night. But still, it sure would be nice if the league showed us the proof that the umps eventually got it right, wouldn’t it?
***
Joe Paterno was a fraud. Those words are impossible for some people to accept, but they are the undeniable truth. The legendary Penn State coach enabled the sexual assault of child after child by his depraved former assistant Jerry Sandusky. Like another hero of that era, Bill Cosby, the evidence has long since passed the point of logical debate.
Last week, new information surfaced that Paterno looked the other way while Sandusky was ruining people’s lives not for a decade, as was previously believed, but for over three decades. Recent court documents say a 14-year-old boy directly confided to Paterno an assault by Sandusky in 1976.
Of course, the school and Paterno’s many zealots are again trying to drown this stunning revelation in a deluge of hollow denials, but these hero-worshippers have been wrong about Paterno for so long now, what they say has no merit.
What a young teenager has to say is entirely another matter. The boy had no reason to make up such a heinous allegation, which impressed Penn State enough to offer a settlement. Yes, the very same institution that is trying to discredit the case. Welcome to life in Happy Valley.
And what a 60-year-old man told CNN over the weekend is worth consideration, as well. This man — who has not been identified — said Paterno pressured him in 1971 not to report a rape by Sandusky. The man was one of 25 victims who received settlements from Penn State, but the involvement of Paterno was not suggested until now.
Two days ago, NBC News reported that “as many as six” of Paterno’s assistants witnessed inappropriate behavior between Sandusky and boys since the 1970s. Penn State even admitted the first complaint against Sandusky arose in 1971, though the school wants you to believe Paterno had no knowledge of it, or the dozens of cases that followed.
Paterno knew all along that Sandusky was a child predator, but the legendary coach was more concerned about his reputation than he was about those kids. So Paterno hid the truth for decades, pretending he was a living symbol of honor in sports when he was actually an accessory to a series of horrific crimes.
Joe Paterno was a fraud. There is no other side to this story.
And finally ...
• Pete Mackanin is an early candidate for manager of the year because he is truly managing his Phillies’ roster this season. The way he has maneuvered his bullpen and wrung the most out of a weak offense has been masterful. And an 11-3 record in one-run games is further proof that he knows what he’s doing. Bravo.
• ESPN will probably always be the “worldwide leader in sports,” as the sports network likes to describe itself. But a stunning decline of seven million subscribers over the past three years cannot be ignored. Right now, the product is weak. The departures of Curt Schilling and Skip Bayless are a good start. Now it’s time to get rid of the rest of the offenders.
• The Eagles will soon have a new personnel guy, Joe Douglas, and – to the shock of no one – his boss will be reborn GM Howie Roseman. Two months ago, owner Jeffrey Lurie said Roseman’s return to power was still in question, a blatant falsehood. Douglas needs to watch his back around Roseman. Just ask Joe Banner or Tom Gamble.
• How good is young Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov? In 62 games last season in the Western Hockey League, he had a plus-64. Last week, the 19-year-old said he is ready to join the Flyers. Not as ready as fans are to see him.
• DeMarco Murray was once the roommate of Sam Bradford at Oklahoma, but they have far different philosophies. Murray said last week that he would mentor second-round draft pick Derrick Henry in Tennessee. Murray is not worried about competition for playing time. He’s thinking of the team first. Imagine that.
