The Rock visits the Eagles
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
The Rock visits the Eagles
Jonathan Tamari
Sometimes in this job, you just get lucky by being in the right place at the right time when something happens to unfold in front of you. I thought I was enjoying one of those rare moments just after noon, when I arrived at the NovaCare Complex in anticipation of Evan Mathis' news conference and saw an athletic, muscular figure who had clearly just worked out leaving the building. Looked like a defensive end, or maybe a big linebacker. He had a muscle shirt on, and looked ripped.
Eagles head trainer Rick Burkholder walked the guy to a waiting black SUV, they exchanged a bro-hug, and the mystery man was headed off. I knew he wasn't an Eagle, and he didn't look like any of the big free agents on the market. Still, there are only so many defensive ends and linebackers I can recognize out of their uniforms. I reached out to a well-placed Eagles source, checking to see if the team had an imminent signing, only for players to solve the mystery themselves.
"Got that workout in today with Dwayne Johnson aka 'The People's Champ' aka @TheRock," linebacker Jamar Chaney wrote on Twitter.
"The People's OG meets The People's Champion, @TheRock." wrote Evan Mathis, who took the prize for best picture with the wrestling legend.
Johnson, of course, was once a defensive end at the University of Miami, and several fans joked on Twitter that maybe he could help the Eagles out. The WWE is in town tonight, so he was just catching a quick work out before hand. The scoop was scratched, though I did learn that there are some big wrestling fans on the team, and several plan to head to the event tonight.
can he read a defence and throw a "touch" pass??? we don’t have one of those yet! :)— osi is hurt boohoo- A very steamy portrait you painted for us in that opening paragraph, Mr. Tamari. If your career as a sports journalist doesn't pan out you may want to explore adult novels...— HSOJ
- Does he play Linebacker???? What are we doing not bringing in one Linebacker.— mikedog44
- are u kidding me,he is better than anybody we have at linebacker now— sammydelphia
- Actually he is a great quarterback if you believe his Game Plan movie.— dminyon
- I saw him play hockey in tooth fairy. It'd be an upgrade in toughness over Shelley.— burholme
- Is it the angle or something but his left arm looks bigger than his right?— essell
- can he tackle?— bloodymess
- It's not the tattoos and if he keeps it up he will go blind.— Eddie Spaghetti
- Really this is news!! Spring training, Free agency, March Madness, NHL playoff push, NBA playoff push and your blogging about an actor at the NovaCare center. Hey (insert actors name here) took a $hit today. Now I am a blogger. That was easy. (ching ching and I have an advertiser)— Southern Eagle
- We all know the real People's Champ is Freddie Mitchell. The Rock be swagger jackin...— RockStar
- Im impressed! Two grown men flexing and sticking their tongues out.— Geno D
- I just love reading all of the negative Eagles "fan" post on this website. Jeeez you people all pathetic and freakin' losers! Bash, bash, bash is all you do...Never anything positive. I hate the fact that I am 43 and have never seen a Super Bowl winner as much as the next guy. Some times I feel like I get too consumed by it and then you know what I do???? I live my life...BUT I will NEVER turn my back on MY TEAM and when they do finally win a Super Bowl I hope like h&ll all of you Negative Nancy's still hate on the home team and stay away from the parade. It is easy to be a fan during the good times, but TRUE fans are there during the bad as well. BUMS!— Jbarry
- Thanks Jbarry. Because being a true fan means that you still positive and upbeat no matter what the circumstances. Sure you can have season tickets for decades and still rock a Keith Krefle jersey but true fans never say bad word about their team no matter what. That's what's important. Thanks for the public service annoucment Jbarry. That's One To Grow On. ;)— guyguy4
- Having heart is not good enough you need PHILLY HEART— missurichie
- If Andy Reid can smell what The Rock is cooking, he'll eagerly eat it all up. Finally, the Rock has returned to Philly.. We are saved.— bradco
- Great...a full story on a steroid-fed performer, NOT a wrestler, and NOT a very good actor, either. Really stretching for stories, eh guys? Who the F--- cares that this guy was around? This rates a couple of paragraphs in one of those look-around articles, not a full deal. Grow up.— MidStaterUXB
- Exactly MidStaterUXB! Only rock looks a little smaller. He may have missed a cycle.— Geno D
