Fly Like an Eagle

I don?t like the Philadelphia Eagles. I?m a Miami Dolphins fan, born in Fort Lauderdale, living there for 20 years. I cut my teeth on Don Shula and Dan Marino, the best there?s ever been in each of their respective fields. No matter where I have lived, I have stayed true to the coral and aqua marine (orange and turquoise to the uninformed). I will always be a Dolphins fan. But over the last 2 days I have gained an immeasurable amount of respect for the Eagles organization. They did what rarely happens in life, and even less frequently in professional sports. They stood up to a bully. What?s even more impressive is that they had to do it on a national stage. Terrell Owens tried to bully the Eagles for more money and as the team has struggled this year, he has tried to bully them into letting him shoot off his mouth at the expense of the team and Donovan McNabb, the team?s quarterback and leader. After Owens? comments, the team suspended the superstar the maximum number of games allowed by the league and will deactivate him for the rest of the year. Owens is one of the most talented wide receivers in the history of the NFL, one of only 4 players to catch 100 or more touchdowns during their career. But Philly didn?t care. Team chemistry and unity was more important to them than what one player, no matter how gifted, can do. I hope this becomes a trend in the NFL and then on to other professional sports (the NBA might be a late adopter). Professional athletes are not above the law, nor are they above the codes of conduct we all must adhere to in "real life" jobs. If I did what he did, I would get fired. Owens will be a free agent next year. There will be teams that line up to get their hands on such a talented athlete. He will play in the NFL again. Whoever signs him will get a fast, strong, physical receiver who can make spectacular plays. However, they will also get a selfish, arrogant, divisive personality that will rip apart their team any time the delicate balance of his universe is upset. About this time next year we will be talking about some other team who didn?t learn from this, signed Terrell Owens and finds themselves in a similar predicament. I just hope it isn't the Dolphins.