November 22, 2017
Not that you needed it, but here's something every Philadelphia Eagles fan should add to their Black Friday shopping lists: a copy of ESPN The Magazine's Thanksgiving Issue.
Available at newsstands on Friday, it shouldn't be hard to find. It'll be the one with a giant Carson Wentz balloon being paraded through the streets of Philadelphia on the cover. The tagline: Carson Wentz is blowing up, but are Eagles fans getting carried away?
The story, written by Hallie Grossman, is titled "Wentz Takes Flight" and takes a look at not only how Wentz has elevated his game, but also how the second-year QB has won the city over in short order. ESPN was kind enough to share a few snippets before it hits the stores. Let's take a look.
• It wouldn't be a Philly story without a reference to Wawa:
On a Tuesday morning in early November, three men—one in his 20s, another in his 30s, the last, balding and middle-aged—wait their turn to cash out of the Wawa on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough, a small slice of northwest Philadelphia. Like a lot of locals, they’ve come to get their days started here, at this eastern Pennsylvania institution, loading up on coffee and donuts and perhaps a breakfast Sizzli or two. As they inch their way forward to pay for their goods, they make small talk, growing animated, a little breathless. These men, who didn’t arrive together, and don’t work together, or know one another at all, are downright giddy.
All three are wearing No. 11 jerseys.
• There's also this part about the previous franchise quarterback who never quite got the respect he deserved:
McNabb’s legacy is so loaded, the totality of what he achieved—and more crucially, failed to—so all-consuming, that there are no trees, only forest. Why reminisce on his magical second season, when he led the 2000 Eagles to an unexpected run to the playoffs? His encore act was three straight losses in the NFC championship in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Why wax nostalgic on his 2004 Super Bowl run? He came up short and never returned.
• Finally, Grossman captured the newfound bond between two seemingly opposite regions of the country.
Wentz has managed to meld his native hometown and his adopted one, and the seeds of that strange, unlikely symbiosis continue to grow. In the pubs in Bismarck and Fargo that now house an influx of Eagles fans. At the Field House bar in Center City Philadelphia, where Wentz’s dad went to watch North Dakota State take on South Dakota State, along with 60 or so other Bison fans. He’s something of a hybrid, and in that way, this right person at the right place at the right time, feels new—and more than a little hopeful—in Philadelphia.
On Thursday morning's SportsCenter, around 9:40 a.m., ESPN will officially unveil the cover, so make sure you tune in for even more. According to ESPN, it's also going to be posted online around 10 a.m., shortly after the SportsCenter segment airs.
[UPDATE: Looks like ESPN got excited and jumped the gun, posting the story Wednesday night instead. You can read it here.]
While I love the Wawa and Field House mentions, I have one major problem with the cover photo – and it's probably not what you think. Take a look at the location of the Wentz parade. In case you can't tell, it's heading down Arch Street toward 15th Street, away from Broad.
The Carson Wentz parade is making its way down Arch St. toward 15th for some reason: https://t.co/0JEyLA1UNx
— Matt Mullin (@matt_mullin) November 21, 2017
[h/t @phillykelly] pic.twitter.com/1ISQRdZ0h7
We may not have had a ton of parades in recent years, but everyone knows that's not a part of the traditional Market-Street-to-Broad-Street route these types of parades typically take.
Then again, I don't think any Birds fans would complain about that if this season actually does end in a parade.
Here's a look at the full cover:
Carson Wentz on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
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