Vikings vs Eagles game postponed due to snow
Blacklabelsociety
Posts: 1,033
in Sports Talk
This isnt baseball. I say play the darn game 
0
Comments
i would agree if this was suppose to be just a normal storm...however it isnt. its also complicated by the fact that is was to be a prime time game. so they want NBC to still have their single game night. since a lot of people are off this week any way its not that big a deal.
Collecting:
Brett Favre Master Set
Favre Ticket Stubs
Favre TD Reciever Autos
Football HOF Player/etc. Auto Set
Football HOF Rc's
a 1/2 trip into a 1 hour trip, and that 1/2 drive home would be 1 and a 1/2 hours at most. Most people will have the day off tomorrow anyway, and seriously, Philadelphia is only getting about 12 inches or less of the stuff.
Game could have been played for sure, but I guess the question is public safety more important then football. I believe the answer
is yes, public safety comes first, but a lot of fans disagree and think it should have been played.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>Wonder if this would happen in a playoff scenario? >>
.
Good question
<< <i>No surprise here, though..Philly fans are a bunch of sissies.. >>
We are not, now excuse me while I warm my tootsies next to the fireplace.
<< <i>No surprise here, though..Philly fans are a bunch of sissies.. >>
...said the man whose favorite coach sniffs his wife's feet and posts it on YouTube.
BTW, they should have played the game. It's NFL football in the winter. The teams, league, owners, and fans all share the risk of bad weather. It's part of the game and unfortunately a precedent has now been set.
The city screwed themselves by declaring a snow emergency that began at 2PM Sunday. I think they announced the emergency on Saturday night. This kicks in certain ordnances and procedures to get ready and act on the impending event. This includes restricted travel advisories to keep people off of the roads while workers keep the streets clear for emergency vehicles. The city should have waited, but in my experience in this business they called it early because of the holiday weekend. Declaring it early gets the word out to people who may not pay attention to the news during this weekend and gives the city time to gather their workers who may not be as ready to get to work as they usually would be.
In addition, by declaring early and showing they are ready the city increases their chance of being reimbursed by the Federal government for the extra costs, although in the end this one will not qualify-not enough snow has fallen (has to be within 10% of the historic record). If it did qualify the city gets 75% of the extra costs back from the Feds.
If the city does not declare the emergency early the NFL plays the game.
Please excuse me I have to put on a sweatshirt. It's going to be only 55 degrees here in South FL today. At least it's sunny today.
<< <i>The correct answer is the NFL made the right decision, in every aspect. >>
Of course they did, it had something to do with Philthy.
Knowing the city's actions on Saturday the NFL could have switched back to the 1PM start and played the game. The storm would not have interfered with travel then. At the least they could play the game early tonight, ending before or shortly after the MNF game begins, although snow removal could be an issue there. I'm sure that ESPN threw a challenge flag right away, not wanting to have to go head to head with another network on Monday night for a second week this year.
The Vikings were already in town on Saturday and it would have made for a great day of Sunday football.
Instead the Eagles may now have to play 3 games in 12 days and maybe 4 in 19/20.
The city's actions started the ball rolling and the NFL capitalized on it in order to save a loss of revenue. I understand the NFL's respect for the city's decision, but this could have been handled better. The mission is to play the game when it can be played, not play the game at the next best time to maximize revenue. Tuesday night is too late.
Somewhere Bud Grant is standing in his backyard in shirtsleeves laughing at the wind and Chuck Bednarik is once again cursing Jeffrey Lurie.
...said the man whose favorite coach sniffs his wife's feet and posts it on YouTube.
If I'm a Philly fan, the last thing I'd do is criticize another head coach...having Jumbo Donut Reid with his two ex-con sons as the leader of my football team, LOL...the same guy who thought the league MVP was no better than a backup behind the illustrious Kevin Kolb despite watching both players day in and day out in practice...
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>< No surprise here, though..Philly fans are a bunch of sissies.. >>
...said the man whose favorite coach sniffs his wife's feet and posts it on YouTube.
If I'm a Philly fan, the last thing I'd do is criticize another head coach...having Jumbo Donut Reid with his two ex-con sons as the leader of my football team, LOL...the same guy who thought the league MVP was no better than a backup behind the illustrious Kevin Kolb despite watching both players day in and day out in practice... >>
If you look closely you might notice the #15 Mets jersey in the background with the guy slowly chanting "this little piggy went to market..." He's right next to Dennis Hopper with the oxygen mask on his face, and Brett Favre texting.
As if the Jets needed any more trouble this year. Ol' Rex takes the cake.
Ask SteveK about how tough Grote was and get back to me, LOL..
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
PHI just got a little more motivation to play for a first round bye. 3 games in 12 days doesn't sound like much fun...
The NFL made the right decision.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
<< <i>3 games in 12 days doesn't sound like much fun... >>
I've been hearing a fair bit on both the radio and on this Message Board about the Eagles' playing of 3 games in 12 days as being tough. I don't see why that is considered remarkable. It isn't
Check it: during a regular season, when a team has a:
Week 1: Monday Night game
Week 2: Sunday game
Week 3: Sunday game
That's 3 games in 13 days right there. It happens all the time; it's typical.
When a team plays Week 1 Sunday- Week 2 Sunday- Week 3 Thursday during the regular season, it's even tighter. That happens all the time too.
______________________________
This is certainly a notable postponement when two high profile teams are playing in one of America's biggest cities, and the possibility of Favre suiting up looms.
It's the first Tuesday NFL game since 1946.
<< <i>
<< <i>3 games in 12 days doesn't sound like much fun... >>
I've been hearing a fair bit on both the radio and on this Message Board about the Eagles' playing of 3 games in 12 days as being tough. I don't see why that is considered remarkable. It isn't
Check it: during a regular season, when a team has a:
Week 1: Monday Night game
Week 2: Sunday game
Week 3: Sunday game
That's 3 games in 13 days right there. It happens all the time; it's typical.
When a team plays Week 1 Sunday- Week 2 Sunday- Week 3 Thursday during the regular season, it's even tighter. That happens all the time too.
______________________________
This is certainly a notable postponement when two high profile teams are playing in one of America's biggest cities, and the possibility of Favre suiting up looms.
It's the first Tuesday NFL game since 1946. >>
People are just laying the groundwork for an excuse when the Eagles get knocked out in their first playoff game.
Looking for 1970 MLB Photostamps
- uncut
Positive Transactions - tennesseebanker, Ahmanfan, Donruss, Colebear, CDsNuts, rbdjr1, Downtown1974, yankeeno7, drewsef, mnolan, mrbud60, msassin, RipublicaninMass, AkbarClone, rustywilly, lsutigers1973, julen23 and nam812, plus many others...
Not a "snowballs" chance - this Eagles team is way too good for that to happen.
<< <i>
<< <i>3 games in 12 days doesn't sound like much fun... >>
I've been hearing a fair bit on both the radio and on this Message Board about the Eagles' playing of 3 games in 12 days as being tough. I don't see why that is considered remarkable. It isn't
Check it: during a regular season, when a team has a:
Week 1: Monday Night game
Week 2: Sunday game
Week 3: Sunday game
That's 3 games in 13 days right there. It happens all the time; it's typical.
When a team plays Week 1 Sunday- Week 2 Sunday- Week 3 Thursday during the regular season, it's even tighter. That happens all the time too. >>
[edited to add: I just mathed out your weeks and it's 3 games in 14 days.]
Under your scenario, the NFL compensates teams by giving them additional rest days later in the season, which doesn't factor in your general description. I don't know if you participate in sports but missing a rest day is huge with recovery. Dallas gets an extra rest day (they played last Sat and play PHI on Sun) while PHI looses two. If they don't get a 1st round bye, it's possible they play the next Sat, though would hope the NFL would push them to Sunday because of the circumstance.
Since it's late in the season and no time to compensate for the lack of rest days, this situation is not typical.
This week's snowstorm caused another Eagles-related postponement. (Former Eagles spokesman Jim) Gallagher and some of the old-time Birds were scheduled yesterday to head out to an assisted-living facility in Manheim, near Lancaster, to visit Steve Van Buren, perhaps the greatest Eagle of all time, the star of the 1948 and '49 championship teams. They rescheduled for later in the week. Van Buren turns 90 today.
<< <i>Ex-Eagles RB Steve Van Buren is one of the oldest living Pro Football HOF members. I found this interesting snow postponement-related bit at philly.com today:
This week's snowstorm caused another Eagles-related postponement. (Former Eagles spokesman Jim) Gallagher and some of the old-time Birds were scheduled yesterday to head out to an assisted-living facility in Manheim, near Lancaster, to visit Steve Van Buren, perhaps the greatest Eagle of all time, the star of the 1948 and '49 championship teams. They rescheduled for later in the week. Van Buren turns 90 today. >>
I've spoken to Steve many times, although not for a long time now. He used to go to the racetrack almost every day and was a fixture there for many years - I often used to sit near him. Interesting that he loved talking college football but never really liked talking about the pro game that much. Super nice guy - never had a bad word to say about anyone and I never saw him refuse signing an autograph. I'll tell ya - even when he was around 80, about the last time I saw him, he still looked like he could run the football, not an ounce of fat on him.
<< <i>
I've spoken to Steve many times, although not for a long time now. He used to go to the racetrack almost every day and was a fixture there for many years - I often used to sit near him. Interesting that he loved talking college football but never really liked talking about the pro game that much. Super nice guy - never had a bad word to say about anyone and I never saw him refuse signing an autograph. I'll tell ya - even when he was around 80, about the last time I saw him, he still looked like he could run the football, not an ounce of fat on him. >>
Nice tale! Thanks for that. I enjoy fans that appreciate history...especially Philadelphia sports history.
Vintage Van Buren cards have been some of my favorite to collect.
Go Eagles tonight!
Date Posted: 2/20/2007 8:31:AM
Unassuming All-Star
Ray Didinger
Fans still marvel at Steve Van Buren, who never realized how special he was.
He moves through the stands at Philadelphia Park, nodding and smiling to the people who call out his name. This is where you will find him almost every day, watching the horses, placing a few bets. Mostly, just hanging out. Now 79, he blends in with the regulars, which is how he likes it.
But every day, without fail, a few strangers – often men and woman in their 30s or younger – will approach Steve Van Buren and they will say: “I just want to shake your hand.” Or, “It’s an honor to meet you.” Van Buren always seems embarrassed and a little mystified.
“How do they know me?” he wonders.
The concept of fame, which eluded Van Buren during his eight year playing career with the Philadelphia Eagles, eludes him still today. He does not understand the he is part of the cities history, a monument not unlike the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, and for Eagles fans, regardless of age, he is a symbol of everything the franchise once was and aspire to be again.
“Everyone is Philadelphia knows Steve, they know he’s a legend,” says John Rodgers, former head of the Eagles Alumni. “The only one who doesn’t know it is Steve. He never saw himself as anything special, even though he was.”
Van Buren played for the Eagles from 1944-1951, the star halfback for a team that won three consecutive division titles and back-to-back world championships in 1948 and 1949. He led the NFL in rushing four times and he went over the 1,000-yard mark in an era when such an achievement was a rarity because of the 12 game seasons and seven man fronts.
“Steve was as good as any other running back that has ever played the game,” say Pete Pihos, the Pro Football Hall of Fame end who was Van Buren’s teammate in Philadelphia. “He was as good as Jimmy Brown in my opinion. We had a good team, but Van Buren made us great.”
“We use to say Steve was our paycheck,” says Frank (Bucko) Kilroy, an all-pro guard with the Eagles. “He could do everything. He was the best blocking back in the league. He could catch the ball. He could return punts and kickoffs. And there was no one better running with the ball. Steve was the prototype [back] that every team has been looking for ever since.”
Van Buren was, in a sense, a player ahead of his time. He was 6 feet and 200 pounds, yet he could outrun teammate Clyde (Smackover) Scott, a world-class hurdler, in the 40-yard dash. Van Buren’s combination of power and explosive speed was more than what the defensives of the 1940s could handle. Teammates nicknamed him “Wham-Bam” because, they said, that was the sound they heard when number 15 hit the line.
“When Steve carried the ball, he struck fear in the heart of the defense,” says Russ Craft, an Eagles halfback. “He leaned forward so much and ran so hard, you could actually see the dirt flying off his cleats. When he hit the line, he looked like a bulldozer going through a picket fence.”
“I saw him knock off more headgears than you could count. I saw him bust up a lot of faces, too [when facemasks were not yet mandatory]. Thankfully he seldom got angry on the field.”
Van Buren was the first Eagles player elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1965), but perhaps the truest measure of his greatness is the fact that almost 50 years after his retirement, he still holds nine club records, including most touchdowns in a season (18), most rushing yards in a game (205), most rushing touchdowns (69), most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (8), and highest career kickoff return average (26.7 yards).
Earle (Greasy) Neale, who coached the Eagles from 1941-1950, called Van Buren the greatest runner he ever saw, better than Jim Thorpe and Red Grange. “Grange had the same ability to sidestep, but he didn’t have Van Buren’s power to go with it,” Neale says.
In 1994, when the NFL selected it’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team, Van Buren was one of seven running backs selected, along with Jim Brown and Marion Montley of Cleveland, Bronko Nagurski, Walter Payton and Gale Sayers of Chicago, and O.J. Simpson of Buffalo.
You wouldn’t know any of this if you visited Van Buren’s modest apartment in northeast Philadelphia. A widower for more than 20 years, he lives alone with just a few photos (mostly of his 10 grandchildren) on display. There are no trophies, no game balls, and no photo portraits. He has given most of them to friends. Others, he says, he has lost or thrown out.
“I never cared about that stuff, just like I never cared about the records,” Van Buren says. “The only thing that mattered to me was winning. If we won, I figured I did my job.”
“Basically, I’m a shy person. I almost didn’t go to my Hall of Fame induction. My family made me go. Once I got there, I was glad I’d gone. But I don’t like a lot of attention…I never did.”
“This might sound odd, but I never thought I was that good. I though I was a guy that worked hard and hated to lose, but I never said, ‘Boy I’m great.’ I just wasn’t raised that way.”
Van Buren was born in Honduras, the son of a fruit inspector. The family then moved to Louisiana, where Steve was raised, and where Steve worked in a steel mill as a teenager. He went to LSU on a football scholarship and spent two seasons as a Single-Wing blocking back, opening holes for Alvin Dark, who became an all-star infielder with the New York and San Francisco Giants.
It wasn’t until Dark graduated that Van Buren, then a senior, got to carry the ball, but that season he broke the Southeastern Conference rushing record and was named to every All-American team. Coach Bernie Moore apologized to Van Buren for not recognizing his ability sooner.
“He said he had done me an incredible injustice,” Van Buren says. “I told him not to think twice about it. Everything turned out all right.”
The Eagles made Van Buren their first round selection in the 1944 draft. At the time the Eagles were just starting to build a respectable club under Neale, a gruff but brilliant coach who was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. The team had been hapless in its first 10 years of existence, posting a 23-82-4 record, but things turned around under Neale. The Eagles had some quality linemen in Kilroy, tackle Al Wistert, and Vic Sears. They had a skilled T-formation quarterback in Tommy Thompson. In Van Buren they found the integral piece of the championship puzzle.
Van Buren signed for $4,000 that first year. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry and led the NFL in kickoff return average as the Eagles finished 7-1-2, second to the New York Giants (8-1-1) in the Eastern Division. The following year, Van Buren won the first of his rushing titles, gaining 832 yards and scoring a total of 18 touchdowns in 10 games. He averaged a stunning 5.8 yards per carry.
His teammates held Van Buren in awe, as much for his character as his talent. He was the most unassuming member of the team, without the slightest hint of ego. He would receive gift certificates for free clothes and dinners and hand them over to teammates, saying: “Here I don’t need this.” He was easy-going, almost gentle in nature, yet he was quick to stand up for teammates on the field.
Case in point: Van Buren’s 205-yard game against Pittsburgh in 1949. He was not even expected to play that day. He was sick all week and still shivering with a fever an hour before kickoff. Neale started Craft in his place, but the Steelers roughed up the 5-9, 170 pound Craft so badly that Van Buren insisted on playing.
“They made me mad,” Van Buren says, referring to the Steelers. “They gave Russ a terrible time. They twisted his helmet around on his head, hit him late, kneed him. It was dirty football and I couldn’t stand for it. I told Greasy, ‘I feel better, put me in.’ I didn’t feel better at all, but I wanted to pay the Pittsburgh guys back. I kept telling [Thompson] to give me the ball. I didn’t realize how many yards I had until someone told me after the game. I knew I ran over a lot of guys.”
Center Chuck Bednerik still marvels at the performance. “One guy in particular, I can’t remember his name, was pulling some stuff, roughing guys up under the pile, that kind of thing. Steve said, ‘Nobody block him. Give me the ball and get out of the way.’ He lowered his shoulder and went right into this guy, knocked him flat. We never saw that guy the rest of the day.”
In 1947, Van Buren went over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time, finishing with 1,008 yards, and the Eagles made their first NFL Championship Game. They lost to the Chicago Cardinals 28-21 on a frozen field at Comiskey Park. The following year, the same two teams met in the title game, this time in a blizzard at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park. The Eagles won 7-0 with Van Buren scoring the lone touchdown on a 5-yard run.
There is a fascinating footnote to that game: Van Buren almost missed it. He awoke in his suburban home that morning, looked out at the heavy snow, and went back to bed, assuming the game would be postponed. An hour passed and Van Buren decided he probably should go, just in case. So he made the trek, using public transit. He took a bus to Philadelphia, then a trolley car, and finally the subway to Lehigh Avenue, where he trudged eight blocks through knee-deep snow to Shibe Park.
After scoring the touchdown that brought the Eagles their first NFL Championship, Van Buren again walked alone though the snow back to the subway, repeating the long ride home. There was suppose to be a victory party, but it was cancelled because of the weather. Van Buren says he probably would have skipped it anyway.
“I wouldn’t know what to do at those things,” he says. “I never did.”
The next year the Eagles had their greatest team, with the addition of the rookie Bednarik, another future Hall of Fame member. They were 11-1 in the regular season and went to their third consecutive NFL Championship Game, this time facing the Los Angeles Rams. Because the game was in Los Angeles and Neale was afraid to fly, the Eagles took a train to the West Coast.
“The trip took three days,” Kilroy says. Greasy arranged for them to stop the train every day for an hour, hour and a half, and we’d get off and practice. The other passengers had to sit there, waiting, until we got back on. It wasn’t the best way to prepare for a championship game, but we felt we were so good it wasn’t going to matter.
The game was played in a driving rainstorm that flooded the Los Angeles Coliseum. Mud was ankle deep and many players complained they could barley see though the sheets of rain, yet Van Buren overcame all of that. Indeed it was his finest hour. He carried 31 times for 196 yards, an NFL Championship Game record, as the Eagles won 14-0.
Afterwards several Hollywood celebrities visited the Eagles locker room. Among them was Clark Gable, one of the most famous leading men of the day. Gable shook Van Buren’s hand and said: “You’re the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen.” Van Buren thanked him. A few minutes later Van Buren said to teammate George Savitsky: “He seems like a nice guy, who is he?”
“I think I told him, Steve, you really need to get out more,” Savitsky says.
In 1950, Van Buren was slowed by injuries. A broken toe, torn ankle ligaments, and cracked ribs – all on his right side – made him an easy target for opposing defenses. He took pain-killing shots before each game and more at half time, but he refused to come out of the lineup. He still led the NFL with 188 carries, but his yardage slipped to 629 (from 1,146 in 1949) and he had only four touchdowns. The Eagles reign as World Champions ended with Van Buren’s decline.
He tried to comeback the following summer, but he injured his knee in a scrimmage. Bednarik recalls looking down and seeing Van Buren’s leg bent into the shape of an L. “I was sick”, Bednarik says. “We all were, we loved the guy so much.”
Van Buren stayed briefly with the Eagles as a scout, but he didn’t like traveling. He coached semi-pro football – Bristol (Pennsylvania) Saints, Franklin Miners, Newark Bears – and won a few championships, but he was not interested in coaching in the NFL. Too many hours, too many egos. He did not want the headaches.
He dabbled in the used car business, the insurance business, the roofing business. He never struck it rich, but he got by. In 1988, he suffered a major stroke and almost died. Doctors told his family that if he lived he would probably be paralyzed. Van Buren refused to accept it.
Three months after the stroke, Van Buren walked, unassisted, onto the field at Veterans Stadium to join his former Eagles teammates at the fortieth anniversary celebration of the Eagles first championship team. Wearing his familiar number 15, Van Buren waiver to the crowd, and he was greeted with a standing ovation.
“There was a lot of guys with tears in their eyes,” says Wistert. “He was the heart and soul of our team then. He was our heart and soul today.”
But no surprise coming off the big emotional win against the Giants last week. Actually might be a blessing in disguise for the Eagles. They wrapped up the 3rd seed and can't move up or down with this loss, so the next game is meaningless. Almost like getting a bye week. Andy Reid had better rest the starters in this upcoming game, and I believe he will.
The eagletts are starting to put their hands around their throats........the BIG choke is almost here.
They will loose their first playoff game.......just like last year!
The league is starting to learn how to defense Vick....He took a lot of hits tonite.
<< <i>Ugly loss with a capital U.
But no surprise coming off the big emotional win against the Giants last week. Actually might be a blessing in disguise for the Eagles. They wrapped up the 3rd seed and can't move up or down with this loss, so the next game is meaningless. Almost like getting a bye week. Andy Reid had better rest the starters in this upcoming game, and I believe he will. >>
Why not, they rested against the Vikes.