From: Gonzalez, John
To: Ford, Bob; Sheridan, Phil
Subject: It's Always Sunny in Philly
Michael Strahan recently said that Philly still doesn't fully appreciate McNabb. Do you buy the poor, woe-is-McNabb bit? Are we too hard on him?
From: Ford, Bob
To: Gonzalez, John; Sheridan, Phil
Subject: It's Always Sunny in Philly
Is it me, Phil, or is Gonzo getting a little too Gonzo?
If Strahan is smart enough, he could be messing with his old rivals by playing into McNabb's version of the world and giving him more ammunition for his poor-poor-me routine. I don't know. I do know that outsiders like Strahan can't possibly fully understand the situation. And I know what he might have said if a former Eagles player ripped New York for not appreciating Eli Manning before last season.
From: Gonzalez, John
To: Ford, Bob; Sheridan, Phil
Subject: It's Always Sunny in Philly
The boss says I'm not Gonzo enough. I don't know what being Gonzo means, exactly. Except that I like to eat cake for breakfast - which is, like, totally crazy, dude(s).
If it's true that we don't appreciate McNabb, it's also true that he doesn't appreciate us. Who wouldn't want to play in a city full of football-obsessed crazies who pronounce water as "wudder"? Philly is the new Paris, if you ask me.
From: Sheridan, Phil
To: Ford, Bob; Gonzalez, John
Subject: It's Always Sunny in Philly
I don't think it's a question of being too hard on McNabb. I think it's a question of being ridiculous. I've said this before, but I can't think of an athlete who has taken more out-of-left-field criticism for absurd reasons than McNabb. Rush Limbaugh (that was right field, I guess), Jerry Mondesire, the whole Terrell Owens mess. He smiles too much? He's not black enough?
If Brett Favre had taken the hit in the sternum from Tedy Bruschi that McNabb did in the Super Bowl, he'd be a hero for playing through the pain. McNabb does it and a vast segment of Eagles fans ridicule him for getting sick or having a panic attack. This stuff goes on and on and on, ad nauseam (pun intended), and if he acknowledges it in any way, then McNabb is doing his woe-is-me routine.
The reason Strahan and other opponents respect McNabb is because they know how hard it is to play against him. To them, he's a football player, not a human ink blot that reveals their own biases.
When the criticism is about football - two of those picks against the Patriots were just awful throws - then it can and should be tough.
From: Gonzalez, John
To: Ford, Bob; Sheridan, Phil
Subject: It's Always Sunny in Philly
He's a huge figure playing in a major media market. You have to deal with that stuff. Out of left field? No way.
Incidentally: I suspect McNabb stole the glasses off the JoePa statue in Happy Valley.
