Good News / Bad News

The good news is, of course, the 2024 Eagles won the Super Bowl. I am over the moon with joy and celebrate this as all Philadelphians should.

     Now, here is the bad news.

     I read the recent expose in the Philadelphia Inquirer on CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head), and the effect it is having on the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles.

Of course, with me being on that team it hits close to home.

My teammates are dying. Center Guy Morris, LB Frank LeMaster, Punter Max Runager (who was at my wedding in 1982), G Woody Peoples, NT Charlie Johnson, S Zac Henderson, LB Bill Bergey are all gone. Many of them suffered from CTE.

The Vermeil training camps back then were brutally tough. I lost 24 pounds in camp during my rookie year. The fortunate news for me was that the two tight ends in front of me (Keith Krepfle and John Spagnola) got hurt in camp, which gave me the opportunity to play, but I also had to run scout team for the first team defense. So, I was running double duty and happy to have the opportunity.

The two-a-days and three-and-a-half-hour sessions took their toll on all of us.

I am not blaming Coach Vermeil at all. That was just the way it was back then.

And we knew what we were signing up for. His tough sessions made us NFC Champions, and I cherish the ring I wear to this day and wear it with pride.

The practices also taught me some valuable lessons about life, teamwork, and perseverance. The way I figured it, if I could make it through that camp and make that team, I could do just about anything.

I love NFL football. But it is a behemoth that has almost unlimited funds.

My teammates who are still alive and have asked the NFL for help like OT Jerry Sisemore and LB John Bunting shouldn’t be given the runaround when they need assistance.

They paid the price, now it’s time for the NFL to pay them, and any player suffering now for their sacrifice.