By: SHANE EVANS
Sunday should be a hero's welcome.
Remeber the scene on that mild Monday night in early December? Two weeks after replacing Donovan McNabb
in the starting lineup, Garcia and the Eagles needed a win in the worst way. Garcia's starting debut against the Colts did not go well for the team -- Garcia played fine, completing 19 of 23 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the ugly 45-21 loss -- and the game against Carolina did not start off all that well, either.
The Eagles trailed 14-7 at halftime that night. In the third quarter, Garcia was knocked to the ground and then wobbled to his feet and there were boos coming from the stands and then the mini-controversy followed: Were the fans booing the fact that Garcia stayed in the game and A.J. Feeley, a favorite for many in the stands, remained on the sidelines?
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| QB Jeff Garcia will be greeted with crazy love on Sunday |
And there has been no looking back.
Garcia is now a fan favorite in Philadelphia. The Eagles are red hot, having won four straight games to reach 9-6 and come within one win of earning their fifth NFC East title in six seasons.
All the while, Garcia is compiling some of the best statistics of his career as he has thrown 10 touchdown passes and has 1,280 passing yards in relief of McNabb.
The fans? They're loving every second of it.
And buying it, too.
According to Steve Strawbridge, Jr., the team's directior of merchandising, Garcia is the hot item of the holiday season.
"There has been an incredible demand for Jeff's jersey," said Strawbridge. "We're on the verge of selling out our first shipment of his jersey, and we have an order that is three times the size of the original order arriving at Lincoln Financial Field's Pro Shop on Friday.
"It's been amazing. The fans are really responding to Jeff. I think they relate to him. Everybody wants a piece of Jeff, and the fans are pointing to him to be the leader of the team going into the playoffs."
Want more proof? The Discussion Boards on PhiladelphiaEagles.com are booming with threads about Garcia. In one thread asking "What Does Jeff Garcia Mean To You," users responded within a couple of hours with more than 110 written testimonials read by nearly 2,000 members of the boards.
Some examples:
"Garcia is showing us all why he was selected to three Pro Bowls earlier in his career. He is running this version of the West Coast offense to near perfection," said TimeToRock. "At 36 years old, not only does he bring a great deal of leadership and experience to this team, but his play has been absolutely phenomenally as his performances have shown."
Garcia has bounded around in recent years. He has played for four different teams in the last four years. This season is the first time he has been in the playoff hunt since his Pro Bowl days with San Francisco.
The rejuvenation of his career is one he is glad to share with Philadelphia.
"I don't think you can really compare anywhere else to what has taken place here in Philadelphia," said Garcia. "I think the fan appreciation has been at a very high point over these last couple of weeks. We are very thankful for that, but it's not something that we try to lean on as far as an energy-type thing. We really have to continue to keep things within ourselves and not ride the highs and lows of the fans' emotions and expressions.
"We want to keep it on a high, we want to keep (the fans) happy. We want to do the right things. But, it's up to this team to maintain a focus and maintain that tight-knit circle to where we're not being distracted by the outside distractions. We're taking care of our business from within and if we do that, then everybody is going to maintain a smile on their face."
That has definitely been the case as the Eagles just completed a three-game road trip, all wins. During that stretch, Garcia showed heaps of determination and toughness, the traits many Philadelphians pride themselves on embodying.
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| QB Jeff Garcia is pumped up |
Said WonderBoy: "Personally, I find Garcia to be an exciting player. He's a great leader, and a perfect representative to this city, which values work-ethic and motivation above many other traits. He's a fighter, and when he gets knocked down, he not only gets back up. He attacks right back."
Wrote Craigj: "Jeff Garcia embodies the Philadelphia spirit. he brings a toughness to the team that many have said has started to wane. The Eagles are best described as a work-day, lunch-box, 'blue-collar' kind of team. Jeff brings that work ethic everyday. Jeff is not the biggest, fastest, or most talented player in midnight green.
"He is the most resilient, tenacious, and gutsy player this team has seen in a long time. He is a seasoned veteran that shares his knowledge and experience with the younger players. He doesn't let the negatives affect him, and he creates the positives on which he thrives. The rest of the organization has rallied around him because of it. Everyone else is doing a better job because of his example.
"Jeff can take the team only so far. It's the rest of the team -- as a team -- that will take themselves as far as they are capable. He's not going to carry the team, but he has lifted it up for everyone else to get under and heave-ho.
"All of theses attributes make Jeff Garcia the right person to be leading this Eagles team out of their mid-season/'We lost Donovan' doldrums. These attributes are what make Jeff Garcia a true Philadelphia Eagle."
Garcia has had a short stay in the Philadelphia limelight so far, but with the Eagles clinching a playoff berth, it could continue a few more weeks, at least. But if Garcia had it his way, his time in this city would last longer than just this season.
Scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, Garcia would like to stay in Philadelphia.
"I will really cross that bridge when the time comes," said Garcia. "It's not something that I'm too concerned with. I feel that I will have employment somewhere next year and I hope that it is here in Philadelphia.."
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