Dawk's gone and it hurts

Still angry? Still have a knot in the pit of your stomach that won't go away and hurts something terrible? Still wondering how you'll go on?

You're not alone. Brian Dawkins spent 13 years in Philadelphia. Relationships don't usually last that long around here. If they do, they generally sour. But we were sweet on him, almost all of us, until the very end.

And now he's gone. And now you're upset. That's natural. That's what happens when you watch a person you care about move off to Denver to shack up with someone else. It breaks your heart.

It's a shame. He was Philly's kind of guy - a human hammer who crushed countless nails for our amusement. His enthusiasm was infectious and equal to ours. Sometimes it seemed as if he was the only one who cared as much as the people who bought his jersey and wore it faithfully every Sunday.

A lot of athletes have come and gone, but few connected with the city the way Dawkins did. He understood Philly, understood our mood swings, understood that sometimes we show our love by showing our teeth. He didn't judge us for that. He accepted us. When Jimmy Rollins called the fans front-runners, it was Dawkins who defended Philly and explained that it's OK to be emotional because that's the way he is, too.

It's tough to say goodbye to someone like him. It's even tougher to imagine him wearing orange next season instead of midnight green. People are having a hard time processing it.

I heard someone on the radio say he was so mad he was going to give up his spot on the Eagles' season-ticket waiting list. And I received an e-mail from another fan who said he was "outraged" and wanted to "organize a boycott" of the organization because the Eagles failed to re-sign Dawkins. He wasn't sure what the boycott would entail or how to execute it, but he was desperate to wound the Birds because the front office had wounded him.

The sentiments weren't unique. Eagles fans everywhere were crushed by this.

"Brian is one of the best players in franchise history and one of the most popular players to ever play in the city of Philadelphia," Andy Reid said. "The Eagles organization, as well as the entire fan base, will miss him, not only as a player but as a tremendous person. This is the toughest part of my job, no question."