So you’re big enough fans to haul yourself halfway across the country, sit near the field, and make a sign, but not to do even the slightest amount of research to ensure the one reason you wanted to attend this game actually had a chance of happening?
I’m going to level set with you all right now: I think this is fake. A spoof. A little joshing around.
It has to be, right? There’s no way people would be willing to shell out who knows how much money to travel and watch a particular player without making sure the particular player in question was actually going to suit up. Especially when the particular game you’re going to is the last one of the season and means nothing to your team, whose playoff positioning is completely secure, meaning it’s safe to assume most if not all key players and starters would be sitting to avoid injuries. That’s some pretty basic knowledge for the average fan, let along one who claims to be so dedicated they’ll go well out of their way to see the big moments in person, right? Knowing that, they would most certainly do a little Google search ahead of time, no?
Enough on that. The more I think about even the slim possibility of this being an actual thing the bigger this exasperated feeling grows in my chest.
1,000 Miles To Nowhere
Apparently, a group of Eagles fans (potentially a family) attended their team’s game against the New York Giants today in Philadelphia. They made their own sign and brought it to the game, where they were photographed by NBC Philadelphia anchor John Clark. He then posted their picture on X to backup his opinion that the team had made a bad decision earlier in the week.
The sign read:
“Traveled 1000 miles to see Saquon break the record!”
This Eagles fan traveled 1000 miles to see Saquon break the record
But remember in the final regular season game last year against the Giants, not only was AJ Brown lost for the playoff game, but Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown were as well. pic.twitter.com/1vckHwN0Qs
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) January 5, 2025
Now you all probably know the context but in his first season with the Eagles after spending the first 6 years of his career with the Giants, Saquon Barkley had put up some video game numbers.
Last week he became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, putting a stamp on a season filled with near unbelievable highlights.
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/UtCENDw6no— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
Barkley was sitting at 2005 yards coming into this week, just 101 short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s record of 2105 set in 1984. This meant he had the opportunity to potentially break an NFL record that has stood for 40 years, at home, against the team that didn’t want him back. You couldn’t have written a better script than this.
But Sirianni Doesn’t Use A Script
The Eagles’ number 2 seed on the NFC side was secure whether Philly won or lost in Week 18 so head coach Nick Sirianni decided to rest his stars as many teams across the league are today. It completely makes sense because if you lose some good players to injury in a pretty meaningless football game, people are going to be asking a whole lot of questions, including who allowed it happen in the first place.
And just to be clear, this wasn’t some last minute decision. It wasn’t a game-time change of heart, no, not at all. This was announced Wednesday.
It appears the Eagles coaching staff has decided they will rest Saquon Barkley and the starters! pic.twitter.com/NMLbMm9vGM
— Inside The Iggles (@InsideIggles) January 1, 2025
Sure, he didn’t explicitly say “Saquon Barkley will not be playing this week” but come on, running backs clearly have the highest likelihood of injury out there, you need a health Saquon to make a deep run, and it’s just so obvious that Barkley would be included in the list of guys not playing!
This news was broadcast literally everywhere as sports pundits and fans battled each other and themselves over whether it was fair that Barkley wasn’t getting a shot at the all-time record. Some said he should play. Others said he shouldn’t, and what your position on the issue is doesn’t matter, what matters is that everyone who follows sports even the slightest bit knew that Saquon wasn’t playing because it was EVERYWHERE.
Check the date on this X post:
The decision to sit Saquon Barkley and not go for the single season rushing record is everything that is wrong with sports in 2025. We’ve collectively made it to where NOTHING matters but championships and it’s ruining sports. It's anti-fan, anti-competitive & anti-fun. I hope…
— Raheem Palmer (@iamrahstradamus) January 1, 2025
New Years Day. Big giant viral post on New Years Day.
You can go find all the various talk show clips and whatever else you need for proof but the fact is everyone on Earth knew that Saquon wasn’t playing today.
Except for these people. These wonderful, dedicated, passionate, people.
I don’t buy it. I can’t believe it.
Because if it’s real, my faith in everything will take an irreparable blow.
