Players Or Team?

From Philadelphia Eagles.com. A very good article from Dave Spadaro. If you believe published reports, the Dallas Cowboys could soon be acquiring talented, but very troubled, cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones in a trade with Tennessee. Aside from the football ramifications, which I will touch on later, it got me to thinking: Does it matter to the fans of the Cowboys, or to fans in general, which players play for their teams? I'm serious about this. Do you root for a uniform, a team, rather than the players who are part of that team? Are you willing to overlook a player like Jones, who has been suspended for a full season, hasn't even been reinstated by the league to date, and who has had some of the more egregious off-the-field problems associated with NFL players in recent years? Does it matter to fans how players represent a team? Or does it only matter how many games are won by your favorite football team? Look, I'm not going to pretend that football players are any different than any other member of society. We all make mistakes. We all have to wake up every day and remind ourselves to make good decisions. The Eagles, your favorite team, want to have players who are model citizens, who never make mistakes, but that just isn't the case. It isn't possible. Players are people, too. But at some point, the line is drawn between a mistake and a real problem. And certainly, Jones has crossed that line. I hope, for the young man's sake, that he has learned from his past and that he applies the extraordinary ability he has for the good, for the right, and that he appreciates the opportunity of playing in the National Football League. At the same time, I put myself in the position of being of Cowboys fan. It is a sickly feeling to begin with, but I wonder how I would react if my favorite team were about to acquire a player like Jones. Could I turn to my son or daughter and say, "Let's go out and buy his new jersey?" How could I be proud of having my child wearing a jersey like that? I guess I have this sense of pride about the Eagles, about what the team represents on and off the field. Character matters. Yes, there are players here who have made mistakes, and they are admonished for that, and they are put on notice, I'm sure, by the organization and by their teammates and by the coaches. By and large, for the many years I've been here, the Eagles players have conducted themselves with respect and with professionalism on and off the field. That means something to me. I'm proud to be here, to represent the Eagles, to know that Andy Reid puts together a locker room that conducts itself the right way with the media, with the fans, with each other and on and off the field. In a recent Fan Poll on PhiladelphiaEagles.com, this question was asked: Would you want the Eagles to make a play for CB Pacman Jones? We had 13,629 votes. The majority of you, 56.3 percent, said "No way." But 24.3 percent selected the answer, "Yes, absolutely." And I ask: Why? Does character and respect not matter to you? Do you only root for the Eagles, and not care about the players who step on the field and are a reflection of the City of Philadelphia, the Eagles organization, heck, you the fans? From a pure football standpoint, I think every team would want a player like Jones. He is a fine cornerback with big-play instincts. He has all the intangibles. He is a dangerous return man -- as the Eagles found out in the 2006 season when Jones returned a punt for a touchdown in a Titans win at Lincoln Financial Field. Adding Jones would give Dallas three very good cornerbacks and would, in theory, upgrade the Cowboys defense significantly. But is that all that matters? I mean, if Dallas really wants another cornerback, there are prospects in the draft and the Cowboys have the ability to move up and make a trade and acquire any player they want, right? I'm just asking. Certainly, everyone is entitled to an opinion. And football fans come from every demographic and generally want the same thing: To win the Super Bowl. My good friend is a Dallas fan -- I know, I picked a buddy and I need to re-evaluate -- and we talked about this dilemma. He told me a story about his son, 13 years old, and about how they were talking about the possible acquisition of Jones and what it would mean. And the question his son asked, which my friend could not answer, was this: "Daddy, should a person go to jail longer for abusing dogs or doing what Pacman Jones did?" Kids ask the funniest things, don't they? Anyway, the story here is not about the punitive process. It is about a fan's reaction to the players on his favorite team. My friend doesn't want Jones to be a Cowboy because "no matter how much he says he is going to change, he hasn't changed yet." At the same time, I know that if Jones becomes a Cowboy and if he plays the way he is capable of playing and if he has success in 2008, then my buddy is going to be cheering on Dallas just as loudly as he has all of his sad, sorry football-fan life. I had a real problem with Terrell Owens in 2005 for the stance he took in the post-Super Bowl months. I didn't like the anti-team approach Owens had in those months and I didn't like the disruption of training camp and I certainly didn't care for Owens putting himself above the team. I expressed my opinion and, well, 2005 was a disaster for the Eagles and Owens was suspended from the team and later released and he ended up in Dallas and has certainly been a different, more mature person. I give Owens credit for that, and I believe that deep in his heart Owens regrets his tactics after a season to remember in 2004. The team comes first. Anybody who has ever played a sport and enjoyed a modicum of success understands that the first principle of success is everyone buying into that premise. Every team is going to have contract squabbles, every team is going to have a clash of egos, every team is going to have challenges that go on every single day. But when the season arrives, and when the 53-man roster is established, the team is first. One of the great successes Reid has enjoyed, in general, in his time here, is a great locker room. One in which the players genuinely like each other, respect each other and appreciate the privilege of playing for the great Eagles fans in a great football city. The players have been vigorous in their support for the organization's many charitable endeavors and for their encounters with the fans. The Eagles have been about a team that loves the fans as much as the fans love the team. That means something to you, doesn't it? I can't speak for how you feel, but I have a real curiosity in what the fans think. Does it matter a whit about the character of the players on this team, or it is a win-at-any-cost approach that you take? In light of the apparent interest the Cowboys have in Jones, I have to think about what it means to those fans, and what it means to Eagles fans. In the end, do you care about the players who wear the helmets and who are portrayed as role models for your children, or do you only care about winning every Sunday? LINK TO STORY