It's been an up-and-down ride as a Philadelphia Eagles fan for me ever since I became a serious fan at around age 10 in 2007. And though there have been various high points — the Super Bowl run, the Miracle at the New Meadowlands, the 59-28 Monday night victory over Washington — I can't help but think that the Eagles-Lions 2013 Snow Bowl ranks right up there with the rest of the most fun games I've ever watched.
The hero of this game, if you remember, was running back LeSean McCoy. He rumbled for 217 yards on 29 carries, finding the end zone twice in the fourth quarter on separate 40-plus-yard runs.
Moments like these are why we recall McCoy's days as an Eagle so fondly, and why we get so angry to think about the fact that then-head coach Chip Kelly traded away McCoy in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso in the offseason prior to the 2015 campaign. Alonso played in 11 games for Philadelphia and was largely a non-factor. McCoy was a Pro Bowl running back for the next three seasons for the Bills.
McCoy, too, remembers his days in Philly fondly and was equally hurt by the trade, as he revealed in a Bleacher Report AMA session on Monday. When a fan asked him what it was like playing for the Eagles and Andy Reid, he responded with the following:
Those were some of my best years. Just from the city, the team. I live an hour away from Philadelphia so that was always like home to me. Lot of my most memorable moments and great times are from the Philadelphia area. I played with so many great players there like Mike Vick, Westbrook, D-Jack, Maclin, I could name guys forever. Philadelphia was always a special, special place. When I got traded it hurt me a little bit deep. Andy Reid has always been great to me and my family. He took a shot on me in the 2nd round and it worked out. Very thankful and grateful for that.
In McCoy's initial response, he also mentioned that Jason Peters was probably the best player he had ever played with, a testament to the offensive lineman's greatness considering McCoy has also lined up alongside Patrick Mahomes and, this year, Tom Brady.
After the trade went down, sources told ESPN's Josina Anderson that McCoy, a PA local, was "not happy" and "frustrated" by the move. However, the Buffalo atmosphere and their playoff success has McCoy remembering those days fondly, as well.
That was nice. Buffalo has a great fan base, they go crazy man. Philly fans are more emotional, but the Buffalo fans are a bigger crowd I think. We ended that drought, and there were thousands of fans outside when we landed from the game, and it had to be like 1 a.m. when we got back. So many fans out there in the cold. I know you see videos of them breaking tables and things like that. Thursday night games they would be waiting since Sunday in their RVs camping out. So that's a different atmosphere up there with the fans.
A different atmosphere from Buffalo fans? I've never heard that one before.
McCoy, now 32 years old, has played a small role for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, the twelfth (what an ugly word) season of his NFL career..
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