He has traveled a long road: starter and castoff Bo Horvat Jersey , journeyman and backup. Now Nick Foles stands at the summit of his sport.
How did it happen? Oh, sure, there was the mid-December injury to rising star Carson Wentz, with Foles stepping in and stepping up. But how, in a breathtaking championship game Sunday night, did this quarterback beat Tom Brady at the five-time Super Bowl winner’s specialty, a shootout?
For Foles – and for his Philadelphia Eagles – there is one underlying theme to it all: perseverance.
”The big thing is don’t be afraid to fail,” Foles, the Super Bowl, MVP, said sleepless hours after he guided the drive of a lifetime for the winning points in a 41-33 victory over league MVP Brady and the defending champion New England Patriots.
”In our society, with (social media) it’s a highlight reel. I think when you have a rough day, you’re feeling you can’t – failure is a part of your life. I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t failed a million times.
”You share that. I’m human, not superman. When you struggle in your life, it’s an opportunity to grow. If there’s something going on in your life, embrace it.”
That’s exactly what Foles and coach Doug Pederson said Monday was the approach throughout the 2017 season by the Eagles. They had gone 7-9 the previous year with rookie Wentz as the starter. He improved meteorically this season and was a leading MVP contender before tearing up his knee in Week 14.
That was one of many key injuries the Eagles had to deal with on the way to their first Super Bowl title and the Lombardi Trophy – their first NFL crown since 1960, when they beat coach Vince Lombardi himself and the Green Bay Packers. Veteran tackle Jason Peters, versatile running back Darren Sproles, specials teams ace Chris Maragos and starting linebacker Jordan Hicks all were lost for the season.
Adversity.
”It’s tough,” said Pederson, whose willingness to stay aggressive was a major reason the Eagles won the NFC East at 13-3, then won three more times in the postseason. ”It’s something you spend a lot of time thinking about how you want to talk to the team. Part of it was entrusting the players a little bit, allow them to sort of embrace it and the `next man up’ mentality.”
Foles, of course, was the next man behind center. He hardly was a stopgap, though, and Pederson recognized that.
The coach went back to tapes of Foles’ work with the Eagles under Chip Kelly, and then to his games with the Rams and Chiefs. Pederson made some adjustments to fit what made Foles most comfortable – the wheel route to backs and tight ends was particularly effective for Foles – and then turned lose his No. 2 QB.
”I think this team is full of great character men,” said Pederson, who was a player and coach for Andy Reid, his mentor, and now, perhaps ironically, has the trophy Reid hadn’t been able to hoist. ”The leadership in the locker room – part of the message was putting it back on the players and the players own it. Not having selfish coaches and players gives you a chance to win this game.”
Philadelphia is a young team. Indeed, it might have arrived at the top ahead of schedule. It definitely arrived in a different manner than it expected.
That leaves the question of Foles’ future. He’s under contract for one more year and the Eagles can afford to keep him. Wentz clearly is the franchise QB, though his rehab could make him unavailable for much of the preseason.
”I knew I couldn’t get off the stage” without being asked about the quarterback situation, Pederson joked Monday morning. ”We’ll just enjoy this moment, celebrate it with our fans in Philly. It’s not about one guy, it’s about the team.”
—
In a story June 27 about a sports exhibit at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the memorial and museum president was named Alice M. Greenwood. Her surname is Greenwald.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Museum exhibit highlights impact of sports after 9/11
New exhibit at 9/11 Memorial & Museum highlights impact of sports after 2001 attacks
By MELISSA MURPHY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – A new exhibit at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum highlights the impact of sports after the 2001 attacks, including the Mets’ win in New York’s first major sporting event after 9/11.
”Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11” explores how sports helped unite the country and features interviews with athletes such as Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza.
”In that first game back, the home team came back and won,” said Piazza, whose two-run homer for the Mets in the eighth inning on Sept. 21, 2001, lifted the team past Atlanta. ”That’s exactly the lesson the city, the country and the world needed to see that night.”
Carol Gies attended that game with her three sons and celebrated the moment in the stands. Her firefighter husband, Lt. Ronnie Gies, died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
”When that ball went over the wall, I saw my children smile for the very first time since they lost their dad,” she said in an oral history recording.
The exhibit covers various sports, including football, hockey, basketball, soccer Youth Brandon Sutter Jersey , NASCAR, the New York City Marathon and the 2002 Winter Olympics. The story is told in nine chapters, using archival sports footage and testimonies from athletes, coaches and 9/11 families.
It opens with the U.S. Open final of Venus vs. Serena Williams on the weekend before the attacks. It moves through the cancellation of events, including the first stoppage of Major League Baseball since the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945.
The Mets’ and Giants‘ stadiums were used as recovery and supply sites after the attacks. Piazza’s jersey, his batting helmet with ”NYPD” taped on the back and John Franco’s FDNY hat are on display.
So is Pat Tillman’s Army Ranger uniform, on loan from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tillman, an Arizona Cardinal player, enlisted after 9/11 and died in Afghanistan.
New York Rangers Mike Richter, Eric Lindros and Mark Messier are pictured during a visit to thank rescue workers at ground zero on Sept. 16.
There’s a quote from Mets manager Bobby Valentine: ”When we went down there the first time, you could still smell it. You could still feel it. You could see the filth on the faces of the workers. When they saw us, their faces lit up. You could see their teeth through their black masks.”
A letter from 10-year-old Brielle Saracini to Derek Jeter dated Sept. 14 is on display. She explains to her favorite player that her father, Victor Saracini, was a pilot of hijacked Flight 175 that crashed into the south tower. Soon after, Jeter called to invite Brielle, her sister and mother to a game.
In the World Series, the Yankees hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks among heightened security for Games 3, 4, 5 at Yankee Stadium, just 14 miles from ground zero. Video shows Jeter hitting a walk-off home run in Game 4 and jumping into the arms of teammates at home plate.
Michael Jordan is pictured with members of the military before a Washington Wizards vs. Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 30. Jordan had pledged his entire year’s salary to the 9/11 relief effort.
”Through the lens of sports, this exhibition celebrates the strength of the human spirit and our capacity to come together and support one another through unimaginable grief,” 9/11 Memorial & Museum President Alice M. Greenwald said. ”This story provides additional points of entry into the complex story of 9/11 to better understand our history and the impact it had on our world today, to reflect on our own lived memories from that time and to feel inspired by stories about the best of humanity.”
The exhibit was sponsored in part through the support of the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, MLB, the New York Mets and their chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon. It runs through the summer of 2019.
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