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Gonzo: Eagles should make permanent change to kelly green

It's a good start and a nice gesture, but it's not enough. The Eagles should do more. On Monday, at a news conference appropriately held at Franklin Field, site of the title game, the Eagles announced they'll honor the 1960 NFL championship team by wearing throwback kelly green uniforms - complete with the classic, white block numbers on t

The Eagles will honor the 1960 NFL championship team by wearing throwback uniforms. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)
The Eagles will honor the 1960 NFL championship team by wearing throwback uniforms. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)Read more

It's a good start and a nice gesture, but it's not enough. The Eagles should do more.

On Monday, at a news conference appropriately held at Franklin Field, site of the title game, the Eagles announced they'll honor the 1960 NFL championship team by wearing throwback kelly green uniforms - complete with the classic, white block numbers on the jerseys and helmets with gray wings and facemasks - for the first game of the 2010 season. On Sept. 15, the Birds will play the Green Bay Packers, the team the Eagles defeated 50 years ago, 17-13, to win the franchise's last title of any significance.

For the moment, the Birds are only scheduled to wear the old uniforms for one game. What a tease.

Bringing back the kelly greens full-time makes sense on so many fronts. To begin, it would send a subtle message that the franchise wants the same thing as its fans: to return to a time when the Eagles were the best team in football. It would also allow the team to decommission the midnight green uniforms.

While the current unis ushered in a new, winning era of Eagles football, they also represent a time period in franchise history that will be mostly remembered for getting close - but not winning - a championship.

Why not move forward by embracing the past? Everyone wins that way.

Besides, the Eagles are fully aware that everything old is new (and fashionable and easily marketed). On the team's Web site, there's a grainy video of the 1960s Eagles playing at Franklin Field. As a voice-over implores you to buy merchandise online, you can catch glimpses of Tommy McDonald and Chuck Bednarik (and, if you look closely, most of the Daily News' current sports staff).

From both a business and PR perspective, it makes sense for the Eagles. They can curry favor with the fans while putting money in the organization's already bloated bank account. Plus, and this is no small point, the kelly green uniforms are infinitely cooler than anything the Eagles have donned over the last few years - particularly the blue and yellow 75th anniversary outfits/abominations.

Just as the New England Patriots are meant to rock the logo with the colonial figure hiking the ball through his legs, just as the Jets are supposed to wear the white helmets with the simple green logo, the Birds got it right the first time with the kelly green uniforms. The front office should scrap all the other jerseys and pants and helmets and bring back a combination that works just as well today as it did 50 years ago.

It's the right move. The Eagles need to make it happen.

Some athletes never learn - which is remarkable since many of them are rich and could pay someone to do it for them.

A few years ago, GQ got Tom Brady to dress up like the Marlboro Man and nuzzle some farm animals (most memorably a goat) for a photo shoot. More recently, Alex Rodriguez did a spread for Details that made the Yankee look like he was making out with himself in the mirror. The pair should have served as cautionary tales for their peers.

Now we can add Kobe Bryant to the list of players that will be forever haunted by bad photos that never should have been taken. The L.A. Times Magazine somehow convinced Bryant to don all white (and very strange) headgear.

Check it out. One photo looks like he stole one of those Kentucky Derby hats with the big floppy brims from an unsuspecting Southern Belle. In another, Bryant is wearing a headscarf that I'm pretty sure belongs to my grandmother.

Here's the link to the Web site, in case you want a really good laugh: http://bit.ly/bWVZq4

The best part is the face he's making in the pictures. Looks like he's seen Zoolander too many times.

As someone who has an oversize noggin, I love that Placido Polanco's fan group calls itself "The Polanco Heads" and goes to the park wearing giant, baseball-shaped melons to honor the third baseman. Might be the best fan tribute since Sal's Pals rocked Fu Manchu mustaches in support of former Fightin's catcher Sal Fasano. . . . Three Sheets fans rejoice: though the cult favorite still hasn't been picked up (the Travel Channel is considering it), host Zane Lamprey has a new show on Mark Cuban's HDNet called Drinking Made Easy. It's essentially the same schtick. The 24-episode season will begin airing on Thursdays in September. . . . Weekly programming reminder: Tomorrow's "Ask Gonzo" chat starts at 1 p.m. on Philly.com. Potential topics: Bobby Cox's ridiculous comment about Albert Pujols being worth twice as much as Ryan Howard; the Sixers' ongoing search for a coach (and a GM?); and Plaxico Burress losing his recreation privileges after being discovered with a cell phone in prison. Just like jail, life on the inside of a Page 2 chat isn't easy. Steel your nerves.