"She's boycotting Philly," explained Renee Reese, wife of former Eagle Ike
Reese, who came up with idea of the game. "I think she's a little hurt. Philly was hard on Don. . . . I'm like, 'Girl, get over it.' I told her I'm going to order her a uniform in case she decides to suit up. I pressed her for a while and we finally had a long talk about it."
But Philly shouldn't sleep, as they say, on Whit. Although she may not have played all four years in college, she did play throughout high school, which is where she met Kevin.
"I could shoot," she said. "I know the game. I was coachable. I was decent. I was a skilled player. . . . I can follow directions. I am a hard worker and pretty much if I decide I'm going to do something, I do it."
She said that basketball gives her and Kevin "common ground, because we can go play basketball together."
Her husband, she pointed out, is a natural at basketball and practically any other sport he tries, although Whitney, who played golf on her high school team, has been known to beat him on the links.
Playing basketball with the other wives "is fun. It brings back such good memories. It just feels like we are back in high school . . . [also] I have a 5-month-old so I thought it would be a great way to lose that baby weight."
Another new mother, Kendra Baskett, a former co-star of the E! reality series "The Girls Next Door" and wife of Eagles receiver Hank Baskett, also is on the team roster, as is Maggie Jean-Giles, wife of offensive guard Max Jean-Giles, and Loretta Runyan, wife of former Eagle offensive tackle Jon Runyan. The Survivors, as they're calling themselves, will take on the Women of Washington at Rutgers University-Camden. The game starts at 3 p.m. on Oct. 2, the day before the Eagles face off against the Redskins. "Sadly, we had to base the game time around the guys' schedule to make sure they would be able to get there," said Reese. Tammy Trotter, wife of former Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, is captain of the Eagles team, and former Eagles receiver Irving Fryar is acting as coach.
"We are actually practicing twice a week for a couple of hours a day," Whitney said. "We are enjoying it so much. We said we should continue to do it afterward."
Renee Reese, who opted not to play, said: "They have been putting that hair back. Tammy Trotter is saying, 'This isn't pitty-pat ball.' They are doing suicide drills in practice . . . they are running some hard-core drills.
"All the ladies have been diligent about showing up for practice. They've been incredible. They're excited. They're so used to being in support of and going to these things for the men."
This was a chance to let the spotlight shine on the wives for a change. Besides, there are all those calories getting burned. "You'd better stay on your toes," Reese said. "You don't want to become too sloppy. There's a lot of eye candy out there."
To buy tickets, log onto jadareneestyle. com. No tickets will be sold on game day.
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