DIDN'T KNOW DOC WAS ALSO A MECHANIC
The lengthy pauses had nothing to do with the cell phone service. Brian Dawkins was in tears Sunday, when he responded to a request from the Daily News to talk to the fans of Philadelphia.
"I've just got to thank them. For so many years, we obviously connected on a very deep basis," Dawkins said the day after he left his only NFL home for 13 seasons to sign with the Denver Broncos. "For so many years, they've allowed me to come into their living rooms, to laugh with them, to party with them, to celebrate with them, to cry with 'em through tough losses, to bleed with them. I just really appreciate the way they accepted me, a little safety from Clemson."
Asked about the fact that the Broncos are scheduled to visit the Eagles this season, at a yet-to-be-determined date, Dawkins was overcome with emotion. "Whew," he said. "It's tough. This is not just business for me. I never thought that this would happen this way. I thought the only time I would shed tears in an interview would be because of my retirement from the Eagles, not like this."
Dawkins would not address what the Birds offered to keep him here. Dawkins, 35, reportedly will make more than $9 million guaranteed in the first two years of the reported five-year, $17 million deal he signed in Denver.
"I want to do this the right way," he said.
The day after, it would not be stretching to say Dawk sounded like he had regrets -- buyer's remorse, at the very least.
"In a couple of weeks or a month, I'll be excited about this team," Dawkins said. "I've got to get used to saying that -- I'm a Bronco." Then he paused. "I'll tell you one thing -- I'll always be an Eagle."
Then he paused again, and excused himself.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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