Fast times at Eagles Eye High…

Just getting some stuff off my chest before we get knee-deep in the hoopla and party-time atmosphere of Draftmas and Draft-a-Palooza,,,

So Dez got released by the Cowgirls… meh…aging talent, overpriced contract. My first reaction was they did him wrong by waiting so long, but then I remembered what an egotistical anathema to team spirit Dez really is.

Then, upon reflection, I got to wondering: What if Howie and the Eagles thought Dez was worth taking a 1-year prove-it contract at veteran minimum guaranteed salary on? Incentives, sure, but an aging yet motivated Dez Bryant on the cheap?

The conservative in me says no way, but a post by our veteran commentator Palmy from Sarasota convinced me to give it an extra thought.

In order to even consider such a thought, you have to think a little bit outside the box. Yes, Dez’ numbers have dwindled since Dak Prescott took over from Tony Romo. But you have to reckon a change of scenery might affect Dez’ performance for the better. It’s kind of a parallel scenario to when T.O. wore out his welcome in San Francisco. Sometimes a diva finds a new edge with a new orchestra.

I know, you’re thinking Dez would become the proverbial cancer in the locker room. But not so fast! Even hardened criminals can turn things around when they get a chance to reinvent themselves. The Eagles have the current moral leadership within the clubhouse to allow that kind of thing to happen.

I’m getting way ahead of myself on this, because most likely Dez’ agent will calm him down and find him an opportunity that is a lot more profitable for him in 2018, more than the Eagles could offer financially. I’m thinking Houston is probably the most realistic destination for Dez.

But thinking in a football state of mind only, if you could pair Dez Bryant with Jeffery, Agholor, Wallace and Ertz, wouldn’t you feel somewhat confident about your overall receiving depth going into a tough NFL schedule in 2018—one with every team and their fanbases targeting you as a symbolic big game?

Well, that’s my Dez rant. If that cat couldn’t make it here, he probably can’t make it anywhere. But most likely he’ll have to slum it elsewhere.

My next “Fast Times” rant has to do with my increasing disgust over how many newbie fans have suddenly decided to jump on the Eagles bandwagon.

Everyone loves a winner, I get that. But most of you who have been reading here over the past 11 years know that our quest for the Holy Grail has been a lifetime event, going back to our childhoods in most cases.

The Eagles somehow went wire-to-wire in 2017/2018 like some mythic thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness or the Belmont. It was unreal.

Yet so many young people under the age of, say 25, are jumping on the Eagles fan parade right now it feels like we have become the latest popular ride at Disneyland.

None of these young’uns know the pain and the crap we have been through as diehard veteran fans  to get to this ultimate point of Shangri La.

Maybe that’s okay. I wouldn’t wish 50-plus years of frustration on anyone—not at least at random. But as an older fan I get the sense that our younger bandwagoneers have not sufficiently paid their dues.

The plus side of it all is there has never been more offseason business in Center City Philadelphia sports bars and pubs than there is now. Speaking with an old buddy who works at the Irish Pub, he says overall business is up 25% and it’s all due to the Eagles’ winning the Super Bowl. He says the tourists are flooding in from all over and they’re all sporting Eagles gear.

Well, okay. I’ll shut up. Ours is not to question why it took so long. Heck, after Chip Kelly gutted us with his Traveling Medicine Show, I should be damn happy we made it to the qualifying list of the Tony Six-Rings Club after all.