Even
online, you can hear
Eagles fans boo Series
By GREG AUMAN - St.
Petersburg Times
Posted on Sun, Jan. 12, 2002
Abstract:
The Eagles, of course, rallied for two late touchdowns to
beat the Bucs, and the site later rallied to correct the game's
winner. Despite the occasional mistake, the Eagles' presence
online, both at official and fan sites, is like the team itself:
surprisingly tough to beat.
bleeding-green.com: Complete with the "NFL Films"
fanfare playing with its flash intro, the site has a gallery
of pictures showing Donovan McNabb bobble-head dolls posing
in various vistas, from EPCOT to New York City to . . . the
Oregon Women's Correctional Center. Fans also can check out
seasonlong pick-'em contests (only 43 of 115 entrants picked
the Eagles over the Bucs before the season), lively message
boards and the obligatory tailgating pictures.
PHILLY TID-BYTES: Hockey fans can visit orangeandblack.net,
a Flyers page that asked fans this week to choose the kind
of reception Eric Lindros will receive when the Rangers visit
Philadelphia tonight. The winning greeting was "25% cheers,
75% boos," and to no surprise, "generally neutral/quiet"
did not receive a single vote. . . . Strangest Eagles site
might be keithbyars.com, produced by a cousin of the former
Ohio State star, "for the purpose of honoring one of
professional football's all-time greatest athletes."
If that isn't modest enough for you, check out troyvincent.com,
where the Eagles cornerback explains that his "long-term
goals include amassing $1-billion of net worth."
Full Text:
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jan 12, 2002
Few cities' sports fans have reputations to rival that of
Philadelphia's, and if nothing else, Sunday night's regular-season
finale between the Bucs and Eagles served to add another level
to the proud Philly stereotype: even online, they'll boo their
own when it's warranted.
At 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, as the Bucs were closing out the
final minutes with a 13-3 lead, one fan noticed that philadelphiaeagles.com,
the team's official site, had prematurely written off the
game as a Bucs victory.
"TAMPA - It meant nothing. The loss to the Bucs didn't
reveal any secrets, point to any weaknesses, expose any game
plan tendencies," read the lead story at the Eagles'
site, which was quickly cut-and- pasted onto several message
boards. " . . . And, really, folks, the loss Sunday won't
carry over in any way to the playoffs."
The Eagles, of course, rallied for two late touchdowns to
beat the Bucs, and the site later rallied to correct the game's
winner. Despite the occasional mistake, the Eagles' presence
online, both at official and fan sites, is like the team itself:
surprisingly tough to beat.
The official site has been busy this week, broadcasting a
Web- exclusive radio show each day this week, complete with
live callers and interviews. The show has drawn as many as
4,500 online listeners and will broadcast again tonight after
the playoff game. "It's really been awesome," said
Dave Spadaro, the Eagles' director of Internet development.
"It's something exclusive to the site, and today we had
callers from Vancouver, from California, from all over. It's
really coming along."
The site sponsored a "Name the Defense" contest
last week that drew 8,000 entries in a week, but the resulting
finalists were disappointingly bland: Blitzkrieg; the alliterative
Blitz Brigade and cliche Blitz Incorporated, which ended up
being selected.
"We had a lot of good ones," said Spadaro, noting
"Cheesesteak Crunch" and "Independence Maulers"
among his favorites. By comparison, some of the Eagles fans
sites have infinitely cooler names. For Bucs fans seeking
that extra pregame motivation, here are a few:
bleeding-green.com: Complete with the "NFL Films"
fanfare playing with its flash intro, the site has a gallery
of pictures showing Donovan McNabb bobble-head dolls posing
in various vistas, from EPCOT to New York City to . . . the
Oregon Women's Correctional Center. Fans also can check out
seasonlong pick-'em contests (only 43 of 115 entrants picked
the Eagles over the Bucs before the season), lively message
boards and the obligatory tailgating pictures.
concretefield.com: Great name, with enough satirical content
to get a plug in ESPN The Magazine. Much like redtidenews.com
has for Bucs fans, the site pokes fun at the rest of the league
- think theonion.com in helmet and pads.
nestofdeath.com: Somehow chosen as the NFL's fourth-best
fan site in the 2000 Internet Football Awards, this site has
a strange assortment of audio files, ranging from fight songs
to tiny snippets of amateur play-by-play broadcasts from Eagles
games. Philly linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was recently spotted
wearing a "Nest of Death" sweatshirt, yours with
hood and pockets for $33.
700level.com: Named for the top tier of Veterans Stadium,
this site's best feature is a "Stadium Survivor"
game that challenges fans to pilot a player through the oft-maligned
Vet turf while dodging batteries, beer and snowballs thrown
at him. A good laugh, and appropriately difficult.
PHILLY TID-BYTES: Hockey fans can visit orangeandblack.net,
a Flyers page that asked fans this week to choose the kind
of reception Eric Lindros will receive when the Rangers visit
Philadelphia tonight. The winning greeting was "25% cheers,
75% boos," and to no surprise, "generally neutral/quiet"
did not receive a single vote. . . . Strangest Eagles site
might be keithbyars.com, produced by a cousin of the former
Ohio State star, "for the purpose of honoring one of
professional football's all-time greatest athletes."
If that isn't modest enough for you, check out troyvincent.com,
where the Eagles cornerback explains that his "long-term
goals include amassing $1-billion of net worth."
- If you have a question or comment about the Internet or
a site to suggest, e-mail staff writer Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com.
