Category Archives: Philadelphia

R. Didi: A Writer Who Has Prevailed

American football, Philadelphia, writing
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Wikipedia doesn’t do Ray Didinger justice. Their short synopsis of the author is matter-of-fact.

Some would call Didinger parochial because he grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and writes about Philadelphia sports. Others might call him a “long-suffering” Philadelphia sportswriter. First of all, the “long-suffering” moniker no longer applies (as of February 4, 2018). That’s when the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII.

Mr. Didinger is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Writers Honor Roll), a five-time Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year winner, and a Pro Football Writers of America award recipient for outstanding feature story. He has written 10 books, including The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies (with Glen Macnow), The New Eagles Encyclopedia (with Robert S. Lyons) and The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America’s Greatest Game. He has also won four Emmy Awards as a writer and senior producer at NFL films and has penned numerous blog posts and a screenplay. In addition, he is an analyst for Comcast Sportsnet.

Roots

A Philadelphian through and through, there aren’t many people around today who can say they attended their first Eagles game at Connie Mack Stadium. Formerly called Shibe Park (renamed after owner/manager Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy), it was where the Philadelphia A’s and later the Phillies played baseball. What many don’t realize is it was the Eagles home field from roughly 1940-1957.

Didinger never missed a deadline, but insists there were many close calls. The subtitle of his book One Last Read is The Collected Works of the World’s Slowest Sportswriter. A graduate of Temple University, he wrote pieces for the now-defunct Philadelphia Bulletin and for the Philadelphia Daily News.

In addition to being a football aficionado, he has also covered baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, hockey and the Olympics. Football, however, is his true passion. He describes basketball as “a simple game.” And baseball, he says, is a “game of cameos – the pitcher, the hitter, the fielder…” Football, which he has been covering for 45 years, has strategy, complexity and intricacies. “It is the most inclusive, truest team game.”

He’ll be the first to admit that it is a violent game. That is one of the reasons why he has such profound respect for those who play it. He says both the courage and the durability of the players are admirable, and therefore he holds in high esteem those who can play through and endure the pain.

Endurance, Faulkner Style

But, there is no doubt he has suffered the slings and arrows of many athletes and fans. Admirably, he’s not afraid to state his opinion. This past year, for example, he openly stated that Jay Ajayi should “Shut up and tote the ball,” when he detected resentment in the Eagles running back’s postgame comments after one regular season game.
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“R. Didi” credits his many influences. He is well versed in sports with a deep reservoir of knowledge about figures – even outside of Philadelphia – from Grantland Rice to Jerry Rice. But, perhaps the reason why he is so respected, is, he understands the Philadelphia fan and their obsession with sports like no other. Watch here as he diplomatically defends the city’s sports fans’ reputation as a bunch of thugs.

He works hard to remain an objective reporter and separate himself from his emotions. However, after the Eagles Super Bowl victory, he broke down when his son visited him on the TV set. He was uncharacteristically emotional when he described what had happened days before – an eagle had landed on his garage roof. He saw it as a reminder of his father’s spirit.

The bottom line is Ray Didinger does his homework. He knows what he is talking about. And it is crystal clear that he loves what he does.

But, most importantly, he has endured. He has endured the abuse from his colleagues from all over the world – about the behavior of Philadelphia fans. Endured the futility of numerous Eagles seasons and incompetent ownership. Endured the National Anthem controversy, the huge salaries and the selfishness of players. The macabre stories and the cold hard truth about concussions. The domestic abuse allegations. The replacement players, the “know-it-all” fans and commentators. And he has prevailed.

Up Close and Personal

Like most Philadelphians, he’s seen it all. As their illustrious former mayor Frank Rizzo used to say, he had a “front row seat to the greatest show on earth.” He should be commended.

All in all, Ray Didinger is a true professional and a sports sage.

But he’s human too. At the beginning of the year, he predicted that the Eagles would go 8-8, and miss the playoffs.

About the Author

Frank Felsburg lived in Philadelphia for 61 years. Shortly after he left, the Eagles won their first Super Bowl.

Climate Change and the Philadelphia Eagles

American football, climate change, Philadelphia

I think I know why the Eagles haven’t been playing very well this year. Climate change. What? Yeah, global warming is the reason their record is below .500. The 76ers, too. And the Phillies. But particularly the Eagles.

I mean, they lost to the Miami Dolphins. Obviously the Dolphins are used to playing in warmer weather.

“But Frank,” people say to me, “climate change has nothing to do with the Eagles inept performance of late.”

Ah, but it does. It’s also the reason why a guy lost his cool at the library where I was writing this because his flash drive wouldn’t work on the computer. It’s the reason why the car that was going too fast honked its horn at the driver who was only going the speed limit. And it’s the reason why the Rockets fired Kevin McHale.

Climate change is the reason why Chip Kelly traded away Shady McCoy, the reason the Vikings play indoors now and the reason why Kelly is doing his best Marion Campbell imitation. I think if it weren’t for climate change, Norm Van Brocklin would still be quarterbacking the Birds and they wouldn’t need a backup. Concrete Charlie Bednarik would still be sitting on Jim Taylor.

Think about it. We didn’t have these mediocre teams in the past. So it must have to do with climate change.

That’s why I didn’t watch the game two Sundays ago. It was too warm that day. I mean, I was playing golf. It’s November! I knew there was no way they would win.
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So, does global warming bode well for the rest of the Eagles season? I’m not sure. I didn’t say I had all the answers. All I know is I have probably seen more Eagles games than I will see going forward.

I miss the halcyon days of Eagles football. I was four years old when Bednarik played 58 out of 60 minutes in a game where the Eagles beat Green Bay to win the title. Yes, it was the only playoff game that Vince Lombardi lost as a head coach, but so what? It was the only championship the Eagles ever won. And guess what? It snowed that day! When was the last time it snowed during an Eagles game? Because of climate change, Eagles fans can’t even pelt Santa Claus with snowballs anymore. I’m sure Governor Ed Rendell is disappointed about that.

To further reminisce, there was the Vermeil era. I mean, let me hear you explain the Miracle in the Meadowlands, whose 37th anniversary was the other day (hard to believe, Eagles – and Giants – fans. I’m sure die-hards remember it like it was yesterday).

Then there was the fog bowl in Chicago, further proof of weather playing a part in the Eagles fate. The fog was as thick as pea soup, so it very well could have been called the Soup Bowl, which kind of sounds like the Super Bowl, if you say it out loud. We here in Philly love saying those two words back-to-back. Never won one, mind you, but I digress.

Global warming is why it probably won’t happen this year, either. It’s also why I almost forgot to put the trash out today.

It rained here in Philly last week. Maybe that would help the Eagles, I figured. After all, they were favored to win this next game by 5 ½ points. Then again, they were playing another team from Florida. Uh-oh. They ended up losing, and badly. You can blame it on… you-know-what.