Philadelphia sees affects of the snow

It is the Eagles’ turn this week

By TOM WOERNER

Editor

Several weeks ago it was the Minnesota Vikings that filled up The Corner, partially because of their quarterback and partially because of snow. As the great word master Yogi Berra said, it is deja vu all over again this week, just with the stage moved half way across the country to Philadelphia.

I am not sure where I stand on the cancellation of a game last week due to the intense blizzard. Because my wife and children were driving through it within miles of that stadium, I have an idea of what the conditions were like. 

Based on first hand testimony I have an idea that driving was nearly impossible. I have pictures of crawling lines of traffic on ice covered roads in the Philadelphia area. I clearly saw blinding snow, nearly concealing all lane markings at times.

Because of that my opinion on this is a little different. In most cases I say play the game, regardless of the weather. Snow, wind and rain have contributed to some great games in the history of the sport. More than one game have been labeled as “snow” bowls because of the weather.

For the most part fans should be responsible for their own decisions about whether or not they can make it to a game safely or not. Those are not decisions the league needs to get into very often.

 This may have been an exception because people could have been seriously hurt as a direct result of  trying to get to the game. The league would have faced serious liability issues if someone froze to death, stranded in their car in the stadium parking lot.

The quarterback part of the story involves comeback sensation Michael Vick. Apparently President Barack Obama has issued statements in support of the Eagles for giving Vick another chance. Though I feel like there are many more important issues the president should be dealing with, in this case he is providing a good example. He is showing that everyone deserves a second chance, even convicted felons like Vick.

There is little doubt Vick is the story of the NFL this year. Those who have observed his career say he is playing better now than he ever did before he was incarcerated for illegal dog fighting activities. 

The Eagles deserve to benefit from their gamble on Vick. It was indeed that, a gamble. Having someone as notorious as Vick on the sidelines could have been a public relations disaster. He has prevented much of that with his outstanding play on the field.

It is said things often happen in three so lets see what happens next. So far this season snow has collapsed a stadium roof and caused the cancellation of a game when it was being blown around by close to hurricane strength winds. So far the season has showed the weakness of a 40 year old quarterback in Minnesota and the strength of a determined ex con turned back to quarterback in Philadelphia. We will see what January has in store for us.