As we all know, every year the Philadelphia Eagles do a wonderful thing for the community with their Playground Build, which according to the Eagles website is “an annual day of service when the entire Eagles organization — players, coaches, front office staff, and cheerleaders — revitalized a blighted Philadelphia elementary school.” It’s a wonderful charity.
But, it’s not really exactly as the Eagles promote it, and I think there are some very important people that deserve credit. This year, their location was the William Dick School on 24th and Diamond in North Philly.
If you just read what the Eagles tell you on their website, you’d think that the Eagles players painted a mural. Not really close to the truth. According to my source, the players are there for about one hour for a week-long project. Which is all well and good, I’m not knocking that. It’s a charity and any community does – and should – appreciate any time spent. The Eagles fund half of the mural project, and they should be applauded for that. But, the other half is funded by the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia (www.muralarts.org <http://www.muralarts.org> ), which gets very little mention or credit. The Mural Arts Program is on sight for an entire week to set up beforehand, and they supply everything necessary for creating the mural. Yet, no mention of any of the key players on the Eagles website and I don’t think that’s right.
The Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia is a wonderful organization that, as Andy Reid would say, “works like heck” to make sure this mural is completed. They do an incredible job, yet you would never know it unless you dig through the fine print.
I just wanted to give some credit where credit is due. Director of Mural Arts Program Jane Golden, Special Projects Manager Lindsey Rosenberg and Mural Artist David McShane all had the biggest roles in actually coming up with a mural design and getting it done. You know, the important part. Good work, and thanks for you donating your time, even if no one else wants to mention it. There are also numerous other artists that donated their time and helped to manage the project.
As far as the Eagles players, well I have a bit more insider info on that as well. Said my source:
“It's no coincidence that most of the very dedicated painters are rookies. If the following players practice and play like they dedicated themselves to actually painting the mural then they have a great shot of not only making the team this year, but possibly starting:
Jeremy Bloom (worked pretty much in solitude for the entire hour, he's shorter than I suspected), Stewart Bradley, Brent Celek, Kevin Kolb, Chris Gocong, Trent Cole, Juqua Thomas.
“The other dynamic that was interesting to witness was how the rookies tended to stick together while the veterans hung with one another, talked with the media, and chatted on there cell phones.
“All of the players were great with the kids and teaching staff at William Dick School. I understand that it's only an hour or so out of their schedule, but all of the players handled the kids with aplomb. Signing shirts and hats and anything else that was handed to them.
“Donavan looked good. No limp. Jevon Kearse looked good. No limp. Shawn Andrews looked like he was managing his weight. He looked fit. Chris Gocong is huge.
“The Eagles are a classy organization from top to bottom but I just wanted to give some credit to the folks at the Mural Arts Program for their significant role in making this day possible.”
I’m just hoping that someone will see this and give the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia their due. Good work, guys.
