Donovan McNabb was the most polarizing figure in Philadelphia sports over the past decade. As the quarterback of the football team in this city, he was scrutinized to the extent that no other athlete in this town has been. Even in his departure, with the fact that he's a short train ride down the Northeast Corridor and will face the team he made his bones with twice a year, he'll remain the center of football fan's conversation in Philly for years to come. He just won't be under center here.
It's hard to remember the Eagles before Donovan McNabb. After the Randall-Buddy era during which many of us where just young tykes, the Eagles fell into a horrible string of years that made you kind of put the Birds on the back burner. Then the Andy era began and it was defined by Donovan McNabb. Sure, some bozos at the draft booed him, but most fans, myself included, lauded the pick. Over the course of his career in Philadelphia, McNabb -- more so than any other player, perhaps even No. 20 -- made me fall in love with the Eagles.
There were McNabb haters and there were McNabb backers. Longtime readers of this site know I was a bit of a McNabb apologist for most of his time here, but that started to wear thin the past few seasons. That's not to say my opinion of the guy as a quarterback changed. I truly believed in the past that McNabb was the guy that would lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory and a parade down Broad Street. Sadly, I was wrong.
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I still think McNabb is a very good quarterback. As of April 5th, 2010, I believe Donovan McNabb is a better quarterback than his heir, Kevin Kolb. But that's not to say Kolb can't be better. And this isn't the 2004 Eagles. Donovan McNabb is not in this team's future. And I'm okay with that.
That's not to say I'm happy he's gone. I'm not. McNabb was the best quarterback this franchise has ever seen. He will most certainly be missed. I don't even think we'll realize how much so for quite a long time. But given the current make up of the Eagles, I tend to agree it was time for a fresh start.
The Eagles have shown us time and time again that sentimentality will not get you a contract to play at the Linc every Sunday. Although in the case of Andy's "company man" it may have gotten him a home in Washington, DC instead of scenic Oakland.
Many fans LOVED complaining about the old Donovan McNabb-led regime. "McNabb can't win the Super Bowl." "McNabb won't win the Super Bowl." Pick your variation, we've heard it a million times. So if so many fans thought that team was going nowhere, I don't quite understand all of the hate emanating out of the city since late Sunday night.
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Not sure if this is entirely rational, but this reminds me of the Phillies trading of Cliff Lee in the sense that much like the Phillies would have been better with Lee in 2010, the Eagles would have been better in McNabb this coming season. But the 37th overall pick in this year's draft coupled with a 3rd or 4th rounder next year helps them refill the cupboard for the future. This was a move that was most certainly made for the long term.
Apologies for the rambling, all-over-the-place nature of this post. It's a bizarre sports story to get your head around. Writing this post feels a bit like writing an email to a girlfriend who you really loved after you just broke up with them, knowing it was the best in the long term. You have lots of thoughts on the matter, but it's tough to put them all together to tell a complete story until years later.
Donovan McNabb is a Washington Redskin. It's going to take a while to get used to that one.
One thing I think fans need to remember is that this sports stuff is all supposed to be fun. Criticize the move all you want, criticize the very questionable decision to deal a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback in your own division, criticize the compensation they got in return, but please, step off that ledge. The world is not ending.
I still don't feel great about the fact that the Eagles just traded the best quarterback they've ever had to a division rival. But it's happened, it's real.
McNabb's legacy will undoubtedly be debated for all eternity in Philadelphia and Kevin Kolb has some gigantic shoes to fill. But aside from the disappointment in the lack of a Super Bowl over the past decade, Donovan McNabb provided us with an incredible stretch of football. For that, we should all be thankful.
I hope to be there when that No. 5 burgundy and gold jersey comes out of the tunnel at the Linc next fall. I'll most certainly cheer him. Until the first snap, of course, when he'll be greeted with those Philly boos he's oh-so-familiar with.