In the last few days, two longtime stalwarts of their organizations, LaDanian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook, were released. The moves were made because both players had passed their prime and seen a decline in production, as well as an unfortunate increase in injuries. But while most of the attention thus far has been on the expected release of Tomlinson, Westbrook’s is the one that resonates deeper with me.
As a fan of the miserable Detroit Lions, I eagerly jumped onto the Philadelphia Eagles bandwagon when, by chance, my sophomore roommate in college was from the area. This was the same year the team was the best in the NFC. The year in which both Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens posted ridiculous offensive statistics to help the team reach the Super Bowl. But even still, Westbrook remained our favorite player.
I was won over by a story of Westbrook’s heroics early in his career. As recounted by my roommate, the Eagles trailed the Giants 10-7 in a critical game in 2003. Their offense had been shut down to such a degree that my roommate’s father gave him permission to skip school the next day if the team somehow won the game. With only a few minutes to go, the Giants punted the ball to the ever-dangerous Westbrook and the rest is history. Eagles win the game, make the playoffs. My friend got a day off of school that he still remembers vividly eight years later.
Brian Westbrook was always one of the best running backs in the NFL, only he never got credit because of his team’s offensive style. His rushing yard totals only topped 1000 twice, and journalists lost sight of his total yard contributions, which regularly was over 1500 yards. He was the perfect weapon for the pass-happy offense of the Philadelphia Eagles. But even harder to replace than just his on-the-field contributions will be his ability to resonate with his fan base.
So farewell to a true Eagle. Even if he chooses to sign with another team to end his career with, he will always be just that.
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