And every one of them seems to begin by telling him: "I can still remember . . . "
"Somebody once told me, 'I can still remember being on the porch at my grandfather's house when you guys won,' " Clement says. " 'And people began streaking down the street.' Remember how they used to do that in the '70s, run down the street with no clothes on?"
Clement asked him how old he was then.
The man replied, "Oh, about 3."
But it is just not Clement, and it is just not the Flyers. If you were a part of a championship team in Philadelphia, you carry that designation forever. In the years to come, the 2008 world champion Phillies will come to understand what previous champions have experienced: the enduring adoration of Philadelphia fans. For the 1985 Villanova basketball team, the 1983 Sixers, the 1980 Phillies and even the 1960 Eagles, the outpouring of affection has opened doors that otherwise would have been closed.
Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Tommy McDonald says, "Being a world champion is something you can hang your hat on."
Given how long it has been since the Eagles upset the Green Bay Packers in December 1960, McDonald is amazed that people still even bring it up to him. But they do. Whenever he does a card show in the area, or signs autographs at Lincoln Financial Field before Eagles games, fans will invariably ask him: "Hey, Tommy, what are you doing after this? Can I take you to dinner?" Or he gets letters asking him if he would like to go to lunch. McDonald says he always enjoys when people ask him: "What did it feel like to beat the Packers?"
McDonald laughs and always replies: "How did it feel? How did it feel to beat Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers? Magnificent!!!"
