There are few things in the world that compare to Philadelphians and their love of sports. As summer fades away, fall inches closer upon eagles’ wings across a green-lit sky. Yes, my fellow members of Eagle Nation, football season is BACK!
This past Sunday, on August 9th, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted an open practice during day 7 of the Eagles Training Camp at Lincoln Financial Field. Local friends and family gathered to enjoy face painting, photos with Swoop the eagle, and much more before practice began!
Not only was this event free and open to the public but it was also a special day dedicated to our nation’s military. Hand picked military members assisted the crowd in welcoming the Eagles to the field as the team emerged in custom jerseys embellished with camouflage numbers. These one of a kind jerseys were to be given to those selected military members after the event to show appreciation for all that they do for our great nation.
To add to the patriotic celebration, three former Navy SEAL skydivers appeared from above the stadium dawning American flag parachutes and landed gracefully on Eagle soil. Soon after, the National Anthem was sung by a military member while representatives from each branch unraveled the American flag across the field in pride.
During this beautiful tribute to our nation’s heroes, someone decided to interrupt. Cue the forever intimidated Dallas Cowboys fans. Before the last note of the National Anthem could even been sung, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read, “We still dem boys. #SACKSCOMIN”, followed by boos and a “Dallas sucks” chant from the Philly crowd… obviously. Rumor has it that Eagles’ fans are now planning on flying a banner of their own over a Cowboys practice that will read, “We got DeMarco”, but we can bet that it won’t be interrupting the National Anthem.
After the opening ceremonies, the sun began to shine, Jay Z blasted through the speakers, and we all finally got a taste of what this season’s team has to offer! While 90 players graced the field with their presence, only 53 will succeed in making the final roster. The crowd was eager to see quarterback Tim Tebow in action on the field since joining the Eagles and it’s safe to say they seemed pleasantly surprised with his improvement. Crowd favorites included wide receiver Josh Huff, tight end Zach Ertz, kicker Cody Parkey, quarterback Sam Bradford and running backs DeMarco Murray, Darren Sproles, and Ryan Mathews.
The atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field was infectious. With each caught pass and each tackle made, the crowd roared with hope for future games to come. Philadelphia fans proved once again how dedicated they are to their city’s sports teams by breaking an Eagles training camp record with over 43,000 people in attendance.
As for those pesky Cowboys, they will get what’s coming to them on September 20th!
But until then, FLY EAGLES FLY!
Be sure to catch the boys in action during their first preseason game on August 16th, at Lincoln Financial Field, where they will face the Indianapolis Colts! For a full list of preseason and regular games, click here.
