Bowen: Some Off-Schedule Thoughts about the Philadelphia Eagles

I have a vivid memory of the first time I wrote about the Eagles’ schedule. It was the spring of 2002. I was in my first months covering the team for the Philadelphia Daily News, having switched from the Flyers beat after 13.5 seasons.
Sports editor Pat McLoone called me. “Hey, the Eagles’ schedule is out!”
“OK. I’ll write up a little something.”
Long pause on the other end. “Umm, this is gonna be our back-page lead story.”
Long pause again, this time on my end. Tinged with panic. I’d done a lot of Flyers, a decent bit of Phillies, and a tiny smattering of fill-in Sixers coverage. In those sports, the schedule comes out, it’s mildly interesting. They open with this team, have a long road tri...