Gratitude for All

By: KO Kelly

Thank you, Uncle Dave, for inviting me to contribute to Eagles Lincs. This has been your passion project for the past nine seasons and I am excited to join the editorial staff for the 10th season of Eagles Lincs. I look forward to exploring this year’s campaign and sharing my perspective on our Birds through the lens of psychology, theology, management, conspiracy, and general fan shenanigans.

Today, though, I want to talk about something we all probably want more of and can never give too much of: gratitude.

To start off with the obvious, Eagles fans around the world will be forever thankful to the 2017 squad for their resilience, determination, integrity, and ability to deliver one of the most breathtaking and magical seasons in NFL history. If a Hollywood producer received a script outlining the 2017 season, they would have rejected it for being too cliched or outright hokum:

Young star-quarterback breaks out on the scene and leads his team to victory after victory even as key veterans around him fall to injury until finally he too succumbs to the injury bug. All seems lost, until a familiar journeyman quarterback with flashes of brilliance on his resume rises to the occasion. With doubt thundering down upon him like a freight train, he delivers one of the most spectacular upsets in sports history. Goliath is slayed and fifty-two years of defeat are washed away in a flood of green right down Broad Street.

No that story would have been deemed too unbelievable. Let’s make another Pirates of the Caribbean instead - Johnny Depp still being relevant is much more believable.

But I digress . . .

The outpouring of love and gratitude from the fans for the 2017 team has been rivalled only by the mutual appreciation and respect those players have demonstrated. They understood what a Super Bowl victory would mean to the city. They embraced the Philadelphia’s underdog mantra, put our demons and shortcomings on their backs, and demonstrated what a group of committed individuals can accomplish when they ignore ego and focus on a common goal. So,

Thank you, Nelson Agholor, for turning the jeers of 2016 into cheers in 2017.

Thank you, Brent Celek, for developing the younger TEs at the expense of your own playing time.

Thank you, Brandon Brooks, for being open about your anxiety issues and tackling them in public.

Thank you, Lane Johnson, for laying off the juice :)

Thank you, Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long, and Torrey Smith for standing up for what you believe in and putting your money, time, and efforts on the line.

Thank you to Carson Wentz and Nick Foles for serving as great role models for all generations.

Thank you, Doug Pederson, for being the coach Philadelphia never knew we wanted and for turning doubts into results.

Thank you, Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman, for providing the pieces to this magical season.

Thank you for being a team I can wholeheartedly root for again. Admittedly, there were some lukewarm years of fandom towards the end of the Reid era and the Kelly era (no relation) quickly turned bitter. But now, with Doug at the helm, I am confident there will be much more to celebrate for quite some time.

Having said this though, throughout the upcoming season there will be rough patches. We will falter but in those times we must not fall back on our negative ways. The Boo Birds have flown the coop - we are champions now! If last year’s team taught us anything - it is that we must approach life with grit and determination.

Therefore, each week regardless of outcome, write down three things that went well for the Eagles. Do this for your own life as well. Accumulate positive momentum, be thankful for your challenges, and enjoy the journey - that’s where you spend 99% of your time anyway.