Sports Journalism — A decade behind the lines with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles
Covering the NFL as reporter and columnist embedded with the Philadelphia Eagles was a dream come true. It was like simultaneously having season tickets, an all-access backstage pass and sharing an office with some of the world’s greatest athletes all at once. And it all started with a sports blog.
The700Level.com was one of the early disruptors in the sports media landscape. When founder Enrico Campitelli asked me to join the crew in 2008, the site was just starting to come into its own, offering a unique mix of super in-depth analysis that many reporters didn’t produce at the time in addition to the irreverent, gossipy, downright zany coverage mainstream outlets wouldn’t touch. Sports fans didn’t just want news and conjecture, it turned out. They wanted to laugh, and learn something about sport they loved, and feel like part of a community while doing it. Above all else, they wanted to be entertained. We were a hit, leading NBC Sports (then Comcast SportsNet) to purchase the website
I would go on to cover sports professionally for over a decade at NBC Sports Philadelphia and Bleacher Report, among others — though no season holds a more special place in my heart than the 2017 season that ended with an Eagles victory in the Super Bowl. You can tell from my writing I thought something big was afoot in this selection of some of my favorite stories.
2017 Super Bowl champion Eagles coverage
Lane Johnson promises beer on him when Eagles win Super Bowl — It was as if the Pro Bowl right tackle knew all along. And because we covered it, Lane did indeed provide beer at the parade through a partnership with Bud Light.
Deep leadership group behind Eagles’ 6-1 start — This is around when I got the feeling something big was happening. Through my years in the locker room, I had not experienced this level of accountability from players on every level of the roster.
Eagles in good hands with Nick Foles — Fans were panicking when the starting QB went down. One scribe wasn’t. In fact, I was one of the lonely columnists in the city making the case Foles should be signed to a new contract back in 2014.
Loose Nick Foles is the best Nick Foles — After a rocky start, the Philly folk hero started remembering to have fun. Then proceeded to go on the most remarkable run of his career.
The Pick-6 That ‘Everyone Down Broad Street Heard’ — One of the most memorable plays from the Eagles’ win over the Vikings in the NFC Championship. I tried to capture the thrill of the moment from the players who made it happen, all while being the first to publish.
More hard-hitting sports journalism
The Most Boring Job in Sports — The ins and outs of being a professional baseball timekeeper. This article actually predates MLB’s usage of its time rules, so it serves not only an interesting character study, but an insider’s view of the league’s experiment.
It’s safe to say ‘The Process’ was a success — The Sixers were one of the most controversial teams in the NBA for years due to their position on “tanking.” Love it or hey it though, the strategy paid off.
Michael Vick’s 10 Greatest Eagles Moments — Few athletes in history were more polarizing than Vick. But before you say the man didn’t pay his debt to society and change for the better, jump straight to #1 on this listicle.