There is an unspoken rule in tight families: almost anything goes.
Families remain by your side, no matter how heated any discussion may get, because of deep-rooted personal history.
What is “Why Eagles Why” All About Anyway?
Against that backdrop comes Why Eagles Why, a channel with a weekly program serving as inquiry, empathy, outlet, and therapy for Philadelphia Eagles backers. It will explore the Eagles each week of the NFL season from the vantage point of sports-family ties and through the eyes of seasoned professionals.
I am happy to host it with dyed-in-the-details colleagues Pete Amato and Bill Gelman.
- They are Eagles fans, high-ranking executives (Amato runs Iggles.com and NJBetting, Gelman operates PlayNJ and njgamblingsites) and they are my friends.
The program is an excellent complement to the football coverage New Jersey bettors receive each week at those sites. Besides providing information and analysis, this program is an emotional sounding board.
Amato explained it during the show’s first episode.
Excerpts:
“Why Eagles Why is for Eagles fans, from Eagles fans,” he says. “Bill and I are like angry, bitter fans. We are allowed to complain and we are allowed to talk trash on our own team but in the end, no matter how much of a disappointment our team is to us, we love every minute of it and we will never stop being fans.”
There’s an implied message to outsiders: “We can trash the Eagles, you can’t.”
The discussions could be sponsored by companies peddling antacid products, blood-pressure medications or by support groups: rant and repent.
This won’t replace the texting, the exclamation points and blood-curdling, emoji-marked sentiments expressed during the NFL games. Nothing changes the fact that while sportsbooks promote in-game betting, Eagles fans have perfected in-game venting.
But the venting process also INVENTS a storyline each week.
Our First-Week WHY’s.
- Bill’s concerns the lack of playing time for Eagles starters in the pre-season leading to Sunday’s season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons. That’s an angle on Week 1. Will they be rusty?
- Pete’s surrounds the Eagles not endorsing Jalen Hurts as their quarterback throughout training camp. He makes a bold, and interesting prediction on the show.
- Mine involves the Eagles not addressing their plight as the leakiest offensive line in the league. They allowed an NFL high four sacks per game last year. Yet only one of their draft picks was used on offense. If Hurts has no time to throw, how much can top receiver DeVonta Smith help?
We will harness the weekly sentiment into four quarters, plus overtime when applicable. We will contain all of it in about 30 minutes.
Segments will include analysts getting issues off their chests from the previous week, keys to victory in the upcoming game, unique bets and the fun and frolic of the NFC East.
The division has shown that this is a great time to be mediocre. Nine wins might be enough to crown the Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants or Washington Football Team as the titlist. A weak record buries nobody. Every win is gold.
Why Eagles Why Content coverage includes wagering angles and considerations for upcoming Eagles games, along with contests around the league that we find interesting.
Bill likes the Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup. The Bills leap-frogged the proud Steelers as an AFC power last year and advanced all the way to the AFC championship game, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.
ESPN did a simulation of the entire NFL season and named the Bills as the Super Bowl champion.
I favor the Cleveland Browns-Chiefs rematch from the second-round playoff, won by Kansas City. Did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who strangled the vaunted Chiefs offense in the Super Bowl, give the league a blueprint to stop quarterback Patrick Mahomes?
Pete has his eyes on the Cincinnati Bengals-Minnesota Vikings game for good reason. Joe Burrow is back from injury for the Bengals and he’s tossing to top draft pick Ja’Marr Chase, restoring their LSU connection. More than a few people expect the Bengals to flirt with .500 this season.
The Why Eagles Why sentiment is deeply rooted in Eagles history. Some is generic, reflecting any fan’s frustration of a near-miss sack that would have killed an opponents drive. Not to mention a key dropped pass, a play-call a child could have predicted or an end-zone zinger from the zebras.
But there are specifics regarding Eagles frustration.
Apply the title to last year.
Why Eagles Why did you:
- Blow a 17-point lead to the Washington Football Team in the season opener?
- Produce no more than a tie against the Cincinnati Bengals?
- Defeat the 49ers on the road when New Jersey bettors had abandoned ship and taken San Francisco? You pleased the fans and burned the gamblers.
- Why did you tease the fans, storming back from way behind to almost, but not quite, beat the Baltimore Ravens? Why did you make us give up on you at 1-4-1 and then reach first place with two wins? Once you got there, why could you not put the division away?
- Why in the world would you defeat the New Orleans Saints after everybody buried you and then drop the final three?
- Why did you sign Carson Wentz to a gargantuan contract when he had already tailed off physically? And then why did you bench Hurts after he scored two rushing touchdowns in the season finale against Washington?
Northern New Jersey bettors at PlayNJ and njgambling sites formed their own Why Eagles Why chapter after that one. Had the Eagles defeated Washington, the Giants would have captured the NFC East. But Hurts was on the bench for the final quarter.
- Why does the front-office meddle in the quarterback situation?
Up, down, over and out. Wherever the Eagles’ roller-coaster ride goes, intense sentiment follows.
We’re only getting started and hope you enjoy our 2021 journey.
Why, Eagles Fans, Why, don’t you come along for the ride?
