Still McFabulous

“This is where it all began for me, and this is where it will end.” With those words, Philadelphia Phreaks stalwart Donovan McNabb (the teams top draft choice a decade ago and the longest-tenured player on any team in the league) ushered in the Phreaks’ 2010 playoff season. “I will be forever grateful to Ping and to the Phreaks organization for having faith in me on day one, and for showing tremendous amounts of loyalty and character in sticking with me through all of the ups and downs of the past ten years. It’s been an incredible run, and whatever happens in the offseason, I’m a Phreak. For life.”

As the Phreaks prepare for what is an unlikely playoff run, they do so with many unusual faces on the roster. None more so, perhaps, than expected signal caller Kyle Orton, who took over for McNabb halfway through the 2010 season and who has been instrumental in the team’s success. Nobody on the Phreaks, however, will question that the heart and soul of the team, and its leader, is McNabb, even as he watches from the sidelines. “I’ve been here a while and Don’s always been the guy, the heart of the team,” said rushing leader Maurice Jones-Drew. “He’s still a talented player and to watch him accept his role while still supporting the team and giving everything he has in any way that he can – man, that’s inspirational stuff. They might make a movie about this someday – ‘The Don’ or something like that, maybe bring in Denzel.” Hollywood dreams aside, there is little question that the Phreaks need McNabb – even as a sideline influence – on their side for their upcoming playoff run.

“The Phreaks without Donovan is like a sailboat without its keel,” said Phreaks GM Ping, “We owe so much of who we are and where we are to him – much more than most will ever know. I’m just grateful to have had the opportunity to manage a team with Donovan at the helm for over a decade – if only others could be so blessed. Donovan embodied, in every way, what a football player and human being should be, and he will surely find his way into the Hall of Fame.”

Barring injury, it is likely that McNabb has already started his last game as a Phreak. Team sources indicate that the Phreaks will likely bring McNabb back next season, and that the team sees a coaching role with the Phreaks in McNabb’s near future.

In other news, it has been reported that Phreaks wide receivers Desean Jackson and Mike Wallace have reached out to Chris Johnson and to Jamaica’s Usain Bolt to gauge interest in forming a 4x100 relay team for the 2012 Olympics. Jackson, Wallace, and Johnson are widely considered the three fastest players in the league and with Bolt would be an intriguing favorite at the 2012 games. What really remains to be seen is how well Jackson and Wallace will use that speed on the gridiron come Sunday. Stay tuned and get your popcorn ready.