Eagles rookie quarterback Mike Kafka grew up in Chicago and he’s proud of it, but he made a big mistake the other day, when he told some reporters that he was rooting for the Blackhawks instead of the Philadelphia Flyers.
“You know what, Chicago boy, I’m rooting for the ‘Hawks,” Kafka said after practice Wednesday.
He doesn’t understand that Philadelphia sports fans are serious about the local sports teams and they get even more serious when one of the teams gets near a championship.
Many of them will never forgive him for rooting against the Flyers if the Flyboys are beaten by the Blackhawks in this year’s NHL Finals.
I know the youngster was just telling the truth but somebody should have told him to chill out with the allegiance to Chicago.  If he knew Philly fans like I do, he would start rooting for the Flyers right now because he will regret telling anybody he was rooting the Blackhawks if they beat the Flyers.
If Kafka ever gets in a meaningful game for the Birds and struggles, the first thing that those Philly fans will bring up will be about him rooting for the Blackhawks against the Flyers.
Many of Philly sports fans will never consider him to be a true Philly guy, even if he has a good career here because he’s rooting for the Blackhawks.¬† The only way he’ll be given is if he leads to the Eagles to a Super Bowl Championship.
“OLD HEAD PROVERB” – Keep some things to yourself.¬† Don’t ever tell Philly sports fans, you’re rooting for the opponent of a Philly team in a championship game.
Believe me, he’ll learn.
BTW, I read Philly.com’s article on the DeSean Jackson’s contract situation as it compares to Chris Johnson. I find it interesting that the Eagles, who claim to have the greatest capologist in the NFL, “can’t” find a way to bring Jackson’s salary in line with his production. Yet, they were able to do so in Stacy Andrews’ case.
drummer, so you’re saying that it’s just as easy to broker a new, much bigger contract than it is to give a guy a paycut? Do you believe that if a CBA was passed tomorrow that the Eagles wouldn’t redo 10’s deal by the beginning of this season?
what good is a ‘capologist’ without a cap? A capologist is one who studies caps, with no cap, a capologist is irrelevant. If all the animals in the world were removed, what good would a Zoologist’s expertise be?
right on Schiller, with the current situation its much easier to take money away from a player than to give him a boat load. I think Desean knows hell be taken care of. hes out best/most dynamic weapon and he knows it.
A signing bonus can be given to anyone, but if Jackson suffers a career ending injury, he’ll get nothing.
I’m not suggesting that they have to give him full value, but they could him something. What he makes now, in comparison to his worth, his ridiculous. The odds are always stacked against the players (because of the injury factor).
The Eagles didn’t redo Westbrook’s deal in a timely fashion. He escaped injury for several years, only to be given a raise much too late. By then, his career was over. What makes me think they’d redo Jackson’s?
When Westbrook was asking for more money, I read more than a few posts that said BWest should just honor the contract he signed (which he did), but I didn’t see any posts about the Eagles honoring their contract with Andrews. That’s another example of how NFL contracts are always written in favor of the team.
I forgot a sentence in the last post. A player can be cut at any time.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Sheldon Brown regrets playing the good solider while Lito got paid?
I recall Byron Evans holding out for a larger contract, then suffering a career ending injury. He left $1 million on the table, never to be seen again. The Eagles were low-balling him, Evans gambled and lost. Again, the team had the advantage.
I hope the players get a better deal this time around. The money is in merchandising. If they don’t get a substantial portion of that revenue stream, they will have cheated themselves.
Hey, I’m fan of the front office but…..if Lurie/Banner were committed to winning the SB at any cost wouldn’t they use this uncapped season to their advantage? Couldn’t they sign several young players to long contracts with big signing bonuses and smaller out year salaries? The signing bonus won’t/can’t affect this years cap (because there isn’t one). By doing this won’t they have much more room under the future caps thereby allowing for major free agent acquisitions or signing surprise young players or veterans. Maybe I’m missing something, I’m sure someone will point it out.
Lots of good ideas being tossed around on how to secure the young players for future years..
The reality is with no CBA in place, who knows if there is a players strike/owners lockout for 2011,
Who knows the details of a new CBA agreement once it agreed upon by both parties..
Is there a new Salary Cap and at which level, is there a Rookie Salary Structure in place (which I think there has to be), are players eligible for Free-Agency after thier 4th/5th/6th year of service, is there a roster expansion or incresed practice squad,how does the health care package and retirement programs work for players,retired players and all coaches..what’s the TV and Merchandising split… When you break it down,there is a lot to be discussed and ironed out between the Players Union and the Owners and it appears most team FO have secured their rosters
for 2010 season and will address and worry about extending current players contracts once a CBA is in place once the rules and by-laws are established.. I expect this to take a good while before any agreement is in place… (November/December at the earliest and probably most likley next Spring)
Joe, I think if they were to sign players now, then a new CBA were reached, it would be binding on all contracts. So, if the new agreement is written in such a way that would adversely affect current contracts, our hands would be tied.
That’s why no one wants to make any long-term moves. Fear of the unknown.
However, the Eagles could extend a player’s contract for one year and give him a sizable signing bonus. If they did so and the player were injured, however, they wouldn’t be able to recoup the signing bonus.
My earlier point is that the Eagles could extend DeSean for one year and give him, say, a $5 million signing bonus. At least his salary would be more in line with his earning potential. If, after an agreement is reached, he’s still outperforming the contract, the Ealges could extend him again, this time to a multi-year deal, which would allow the cap hit to be spread out over term of his contract (assuming the new CBA is written similar to the old one).
All valid points, Paul, and I completely understand why teams are reluctant to move. At the same token, I respect the 49ers for locking up Patrick Willis through 2016.
It’s fairly certain that the owners will maintain an advantage with the new CBA, thus the potential for a lockout. If the owners had to worry about shortened careers because of games missed during a strike, the threat of a strike would less likely. However, because the owners are rich, they have time and money on their side. It’s a war of attrition. Players can’t afford to sit out for 2 years. That’s time and money that they can’t get back. Their windows of opportunity are limited. The owners have no such worries.
Undoubtedly, the owners will have their way wherein the CBA is concerned. That’s why the 49ers gave Willis $29 million guaranteed money. They know that the odds are in their favor that CBA will be written in such a way that they won’t suffer irreparable damage. But I believe what they did for team morale and commitment is also of great importance on the field and in the locker room.
I’m not advocating that the Eagles secure younger players. I’m suggesting they should make up salaries for players who are grossly out-performing their contracts, namely, DeSean Jackson.
drummer – all out of curiosity – what is your slant here? From my eyes, Desean Jackson is a person in America, which is currently coming out of an economic crisis, who gets payed millions to play a game, some days out of the year. Fact is, he plays the game incredibly well, much better than most other players in fact, and he isn’t payed proportionally. If in the worst case scenario, as you have pointed out, he gets injured (career ending – how often does that happen these days?) – he’d have to – gasp – get a job and maybe work 40 hours a week like everyone else. And that’s if he didn’t find a way to stay involved with Football/the limelight somehow. My point is, the only way I see this being relevant to you is to support an argument against or merely ‘bash’ the FO. He’s in a less than ideal financial situation, in incredibly rare and complicated circumstances (the CBA), and he has to play a game for a living and make millions in the meantime. The poor baby – I think he can handle waiting a bit till the circumstances pass and he gets paid.
In a game when we ask players to tough out injuries, hustle when they’re exhausted at the end of games etc…. we have to coddle a rich athlete just because ‘it isn’t fair’? He’s a tough kid, let him wait a bit.
And as to this actual article – Garry, is there really any ‘true Philly guy’ out there? In this day and age, where ‘sports is a business’ – all the players say that – nobody is really loyal to the city right? I mean, what percentage of players on the 4 major sports team grew up in or rooting for Philly sports teams? You’re telling me that they develop true loyalty during their stints on the teams? I see nothing wrong with Kafka admitting that. If he wears a Blackhawks hat to a Flyers game, that’s a different story.
Schill, my “slant” is that the players should get their fair share of the NFL money pie. There would be no game without the players, and the price they pay is incredible. These men are pushed to their absolute limits to ‚Äúplay the game.‚Äù Corey Stringer died of heat exhaustion during training camp. Certainly, his death is a rare occurrence, but each of his teammates was exposed to those same conditions, along with every player in an NFL camp. Mind you, this didn‚Äôt occur while ‚Äúplaying the game.‚Äù It took place while ‚Äúpreparing‚Äù to play the game.
If I made 100K and my co-workers earned $3 million to perform the same job, I would be unhappy, despite the fact that I could live on 100K. Jackson will earn $470,000 this year, while Larry Fitzgerald earned more than $17 million in 2008. Undoubtedly, Jeffrey Lurie will earn substantially more. I guess you could say that’s “less than idea.”
You spoke of America being in an economic crisis, and I can certainly relate, as I’m currently unemployed and unable to find a job. Conversely, the NFL suffers no such economic crisis. The NFL is thriving. Lurie has become a billionaire since taking over the franchise. Yet, just yesterday, he talked about wanting to host a Superbowl. I doubt that’s for the sake of prestige. It’s all about money. He’s a billionaire, yet he wants more money. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. Capitalism is the American way.
Doctors, lawyers, entertainers and other professions still command top dollar during this economic crisis, yet they aren’t exposed to the pain, suffering and injury of an NFL player. These other professions can last as long 50-60 years, but the average career of an NFL player is probably 5-6 years.
Football in the NFL is more than a “game.” It’s a business, and playing “the game” is a miniscule part of the work. In fact, it’s the payoff after the work. Preparation is a year-around commitment.
Michael Strahan was asked about how injuries affected his everyday life, post-retirement. He had only 30 seconds to respond, but off the top of his head, he spoke of the pain in his hands from having dislocated each fingers multiple times while grabbing Jerseys. He said that whenever a finger popped out of its joint, he popped it back in and kept playing. That’s a very painful injury, but he said his teammates would have laughed him out of the locker room had he come out of the game for “a finger.” My point is that what we often don’t have a real concept of an NFL injury. The sports hernia that McNabb suffered is excruciatingly painful. I can’t even begin to imagine playing on a broken ankle. This is no ordinary game, nor an ordinary job. That’s why so few people can play. Jackson excels, has a short shelf life, is grossly underpaid and could lose it all at any time. In my opinion, that’s not something to just grin and bear, especially while the owners continue to stack money.
The article says that Jackson has been very good about his contract situation. Good for him! But I don’t knock Chris Johnson for his approach, either.
Schill, I agree with your opinion that Kafka should be able to don whatever colors he likes, Unforuantely, that’s not how things work around here. Whenever Iverson wore a throwback, he was roundly criticized, and I would hated to have seen the fallout from Donovan wearing anything other than green.
lol ai a real legend round here
ai wore a bill russell throwback while we played the celts in the offs histerical
AI’s not the legend that Kafka is.
yes i know most posters on this site hate ai too i know lol well ai is a legend in north philly west philly germantown logan kensington and some parts of south philly u know by like wharton and sigel streets not greys ferry lol section lol
Philly, A.I. wore the jersey of a player who hadn’t played the game in 25 years. Kafka’s rooting for a team we’re currently facing in the playoffs.
I, personally, have no problem with it. But a lot of things surrounding sports today make no sense.
o yeah i wasnt really talking bout that i read ur post and u reminded me of ai that was it this yr ai did the same thing tho i hated it but what can u do he wore a cowboys scully on doomsday the day they beat us in the offs sixers were playing la i think lol awful still ai legendary lol
kafka i dont mind he has no philly in him yet he is a rookie although ai is 1 of my fav players i found it rude and didnt like it 1 bit but i sat back and said thats probably y he does shit like that just 2 piss a cpl dudes off lol
Gotcha, Philly. I think it’s incredible the number of Cowboys fans who wear jerseys to Eagles games.
they should be stoned
Willy – Good point – being high would probably help numb the awkwardness. But in all honesty, Martin Luther King would be so disappointed in you saying that – all races would agree.
u guys have no clue i went to central high school i work in plymouth meeting half my best friends are white i never play the race card i dont really notice it im 29 and ppl from my generation dont look at race we just chill and have fun but i honestly think if d5 was white he’d be here i truly feel that way i could be wrong just posted my opinion
straight up – will that was a great post, WAY more reasonably expressed than your previous ones. But do you think that his contract along with the CBA uncertainty situation, the Kolb/Aaron Rogers effect, how long he’s been here, his age, and his football flaws – that none of that factored it in? Lets say McNabb had been white, wouldn’t all of that stuff still fit into the equation enough to warrant the trade?
yea and no if this were bball yea its football qbs are playing till 40 if u use arron rodgers im gonna use elway so no need for comparisons and if u give kolb 12 million signing bonus couldve done the same for d5 due to cba uncertainty i just dont like the loyalty most of us here are from philly its unlike alot of places im still friends with my childhood friends we stay loyal to each other we r a loyal city and i just think with all the nonsense the eagles preach about being a good citizen as well as football player d5 got a raw deal all our guys did dawk bwest runyan def sheldon i just dont like it period those r my eagles u mean to tell me we sign and kept vick but traded d5 i know u guys will say we couldnt trade vick who cares what kind of sense does that make what kind of impression does that leave its horrible and for of the most loyal cities in the world we have 1 of the most unloyal franchise in sports history
will – I got you. I also grew up in Philly – didn’t move away until college and I’m moving back now because I never lost the love for the city. Same goes for my childhood friends. And I still have a very bitter feeling about Curt Schilling leaving the city – (I didn’t know he was a prick until I grew up). Free Agency (and the resulting business environment) in pro sports has killed the idea of loyalty, and as a result, it often leaves fans feeling crappy when moves are made. Remember the feeling when Reggie White left!?! It sucked. Remember how weird it felt when the Eagles signed former redskins and giants like Brian Mitchell, Carlos Emmons, Nate Wayne, I know there are a bunch of other examples. I think the culprit for what bugs you is really the modern ‘business is business’ sports world. The Eagles sure aren’t an exception to that trend, but they aren’t the only ones who do it. And for the record, I was saying the Aaron rodgers situation – not him v. kolb as players. Thanks for clarifying your point there – it’s really all about that bitter feeling/loyalty thing with you and I can totally understand that. I hated when AI left too – kinda broke my heart – though him kissing the floor and ‘thnx philly’ on the shoes almost made it worth it didn’t it?
Hell, Schiller & Chillywilly,
Even the “Mafia” aren’t loyal anymore….
The breakdown of the family unit in America as we once knew it or grew up in it is mostly gone and mostly replaced with gadgets,computers,e-mails,text messages and as little confrontation or
face to face conversation anymore… How many times does the average family have dinner together
during a course of a week.. 2 maybe 3 times at the most… everyone is so busy running here,there,everywhere, and what does it get you….to each his own I guess… have a great Memorial Day Weekend and keep those Servicepeople and their families in our thoughts and praise this weekend
ha pauli – ever read ‘bowling alone’ or ‘better together’ – look em up if not – that goes for everyone.
I think Kafka could be a better quarterback than Kolb. His arm is stronger….can an I on this one.
I’ll check them out (books) Schiller..
If I were a religious person.. I would think Kafka was the “Anti-Christ” and have him shipped out immediately….