Former Eagle All-Pro lineman Jon Runyan aims to oust a freshman Democrat in New Jersey’s 3rd District…
What a contrast…the no-nonsense straight-shooting personality of Big Jon Runyan, and the hysterical cloak-and-dagger insanity of the current drama exploding around Donovan McNabb’s imminent trade…
Runyan’s congressional campaign is real news happening now, while McNabb’s trade rumors are mainly hyped-up boiled-over nonsense…yet in the Philly and South Jersey media markets, Runyan has to compete with McNabb’s crazy soap opera for publicity.
It’s getting so bad, even Donovan finally showed the first public sign of cracking… Last night, I picked up a McNabb tweet which vented obvious frustration, an unusual and emotional signal from the usually smokin’ and jokin’ quarterback. In essence, the tweet said, “Look, if you’re gonna trade me, do it quickly…”
Ironically, Runyan is the guy who literally had Donovan’s back for most of the past decade. I tried without success to reach Runyan for a comment on the McNabb crisis. Typically, Runyan will not get involved in such nonsense.
Besides, Eagles Eye is not the kind of Birds blogsite you go to for speculative leads or hot rumors or up-to-the-second reactions…Oh sure, Alex will tweet you when something really significant pops. But we’d rather be thought of as a vacation spot for the intelligent Eagles fan’s mind, kind of like a cool mountain retreat for the balanced Bird brain — and not a quick-hit, what-up, rumor-reflexive pit stop.
My personal satirical take on the McNabb farce would be: He should pull the rug out on all this crap, pull a Favre and retire!!! — then unretire, or possibly take a nice long vacation…or go play for whatever team he wants at whatever price he can command. That would show ’em all…pull a Favre!
Funny, but Philly fans usually love the stoic stars like Runyan moreso than the “golden boys” like McNabb, so it’s weird to observe how the local media have allowed themselves to be sucked into the vortex of the ESPN/NFL Channel-induced hysteria…and at the expense of bringing valid attention to Runyan’s campaign.
The GOP establishment meanwhile is lining up big-time behind Runyan. The national issues and fundamentals of the race Runyan has entered in New Jersey are as favorable to any Republican as they could be in the mainly Democratic state. Runyan also has the resources to self-finance his campaign. He faces a primary run-off in June against Republican Justin Murphy, and if he wins that, Runyan will face Democrat incumbent John Adler, a Harvard-educated Cherry Hill lawyer, in November.
Runyan is running on reducing taxes and limiting governmental expansion, with a pragmatic, no-nonsense, plain-talking approach. Runyan disdains celebrity, and does not pretend to be a “culture warrior”… He simply wants to bring the same fiscal responsibility approach to government which he brings to his 23-acre steer farm in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
Big Jon’s pragmatism is just the opposite of the emotional madness surrounding the McNabb story. And don’t expect Runyan to hang around in Congress for the next 20 years if he does win in November— he intends to win, state his case, fix some problems, then pass the baton to his party’s next chosen messenger…and move on with his family and ranch just being Jon Runyan.
Over his nine seasons with the Eagles, the 6-7, 330 lb. Runyan was as popular a star in Philadelphia as a Lineman could possibly be. But he achieved popularity without burdening himself with celebrity and operatic drama.
Right now, I’d bet Donovan McNabb would give a lot to be able to say the same.
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