Donovan McNabb Says He'll Retire An Eagle
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Donovan McNabb will retire as a member of the Eagles, the former QB told a Syracuse radio station.
Though there is no date for the retirement ceremony confirmed by the Eagles, McNabb said later on his own radio show that it will likely be in September.
"There was never any animosity from the Philly fans," McNabb said. "The handful of fans that are the ones that are kind of being seen, they're not a high percentage of fans who truly appreciate what you were able to do while you were there. I have nothing but love for the Philly fans, even the ones who were highly criticizing me or opinionated in any way. I can't get upset at them because my job is to get out on the field and be productive. That's what quarterbacking is all about. I will retire as an Eagle and I look forward to that opportunity and that day."
McNabb has said before that he believes he should be in the pro football Hall Of Fame, an opinion he still holds.
"I didn't play the game for the individual accolades. I didn't play the game to say, 'Hey, I want to make the Hall of Fame.' Yeah, that's great. I think that's a goal that you kind of write as a kid up on the sheet, you look at it like, yeah I wanna be like Warren Moon or I wanna be like Jim Kelly, Randall Cunningham," McNabb said. "Those were guys I watched and tried to watch and take parts of their game out and add it to mine. And when I had an opportunity to compete against those guys, I wanted to be better. Now that I'm not playing, you look at my numbers, yes my numbers speak for themselves, but none of that would've been able to happen if I didn't play with a great group of guys around me. If I'm rewarded by getting in the Hall of Fame, hey that's great. But to me it's like graduation. You step across the stage and say you know what, I made it, and I'm happy for it."
It will be a month full of nostalgia in Philadelphia, as Andy Reid makes his return as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs on September 19th. The Eagles only have one other home game in September, on the 25th against the Chargers.
Can you imagine if both McNabb and Reid return on the 19th? You might want to call into 94WIP right now just to stay on hold until that week, just so you have time to figure out who you'll cheer and who you will boo.
