The Philadelphia Eagles have been in existence since the nineteen-thirties. They won three NFL championships before the NFL merged with the AFL, so those were not Super Bowl winning teams. The team has played in two Super Bowls. In 1980 they lost to the Oakland Raiders and in 2004 they lost to the New England Patriots. Despite the Super Bowl losses the Eagles have been one of the top teams in the NFL for the past ten years. Quarterback Donovan McNabb and running back Michael Westbrook lead one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL year in and year out.
The Eagles play their home games at Veterans Stadium from 1971-2002 before moving to the new, state of the art, Lincoln Financial Field. They play in front of 69.032 fans each Sunday. The notorious Eagles fans support their team in good times and bad, but they do not hesitate to let the Eagles know when they are not happy. This is a crowd who once booed Santa Claus at a game at the old Veterans Stadium and they haven't become any more easygoing since they moved to their new home. One feature that was removed from the new field was the four cell jail that was a holdover needed for the rowdy crowds at the old Vet.
The Eagles were named in honor of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal which is also why their helmets are adorned with a silver eagle. One of the more interesting facts in team history is that in 1941 they briefly merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was because during World War II the two teams were unable to fill their rosters. The team was known as the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh "Steagles" and the merger was broken up after the 1943 season when the two franchises were again able to field a full roster.
Over the years Eagles fans have been lucky enough to see many NFL greats play for their team. There are eighteen players in the pro football Hall of Fame that played or coached for the Eagles. There are also seven former Eagles players that have had their numbers retired. In addition to the retired numbers there are twenty-eight former players, coaches, or executives who are honored in the Eagle Honor Roll.
In 2008 Forbes magazine ranked Eagles fans as the most diehard fans in America which anyone on the more than forty-thousand person waiting list can attest. Season tickets are renewed at more than a 99.7% rate so the people who are at the bottom of the waiting list are going to be there for quite a few years. Of course, being the most diehard fans in America this doesn't discourage many of them from waiting.
The Philadelphia Eagles have made the playoffs in seven of the last eight years and this trend looks as though it will continue well into the next decade. When Philadelphia fans booed the draft day selection of superstar quarterback Donovan McNabb they had no idea he would become the face of one of the winningest franchises in the National Football League. In this era many people only judge success by Super Bowl wins, but the Philadelphia Eagles are a franchise that plays the right way and has won an awful lot of football games along the way.
Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching NFL on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles. Check out his Philadelphia Eagles Watch and his Denver Broncos Door Mat.
