Eagles' Nest

A few weeks back we went to a fundraiser that we use to go to on a regular basis. It use to be a "gala," but we haven't gone recently. We get the tickets for free, do some schmoozing to support our cause, shout above the music and then call it a night.



But this year it was being held at Lincoln Financial Field and there was a pre-dinner cocktail party being held in the Eagles' locker room.



I know. I had the same thought. Who wants to stand around in a locker room? Much less eating or drinking? Sheesh.



But the rarity of the opportunity was intriguing so we went.



We got there on time (for the pre-dinner affair) so the parking lot was almost completely empty. You could count how many folks were in there already.



We walked into the stadium and were directed down the long tall tunnel. Staff at every bend directing us onward. It was as much about the security of the inner sanctum as it was about guidance. Along we went. We passed a huge rollup door that I imagine took one directly onto the field. After a couple of Get Smart-type door passages, finally we arrived.



Well, I can tell you it wasn't anything like what I imagined.



First, it was huge, Second it was clean. Third, there was no tile anywhere, nor a floor drain in sight. Fourth, the wood of the little dressing areas reminded me of typical law firm wood paneled opulence. Wow. So we stood around, gawked a bit, tried to figure out whose locker was where and why. Turns out that they are roughly grouped according to their roles on the team; offense, defense, running backs, etc.



I must say, it was all pretty interesting.



Then they had a couple of speakers at a little lecturn set up at one end of the dressing room. One of the speakers, a long time Eagle guy, tells a story about how he first got involved doing a good deed to help out a former owner. Well, it turns out that this is the guy who, essentially invented the idea of Ronald McDonald House.



There isn't too much you can say good about McDonald's (though there is some and Joan Crock's philanthropy is one of them), but there isn't much bad you can say about RMH. That was pretty impressive.



So what we thought was going to be a night of smelly socks (if NFL socks, but socks and jocks, nonetheless) turned out to be a pretty interesting event. The rest of the night upstairs in the Birds Nest, or whatever they called it, was nice enough, but it certainly lacked the interest of the locker room.

All in all it was a decent time for a good cause.