Players Upbeat at Annual Event

 

While in attendance at today's 3-hour Eagles event, I noticed a strong, upbeat attitude held by the players that were there. Taking place in the Rockvale Outlet shopping area in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this annual "Eagles End Zone Event" (appropriately named after the nearby store Eagles End Zone) promoted fans to come out and see a few popular Eagles while meeting the team mascot "Swoop" and several cheerleaders, as well as getting free samples of Turkey Hill ice cream and Tastykake-brand pastries.

Although it may seem like an unimportant event in the offseason (and quite frankly has nothing to do with practice and/or season preparation for the players), this unique Saturday afternoon period was taken to with excitement and confidence by the 4 players in attendance--MLB Stewart Bradley, DE Juqua Parker, FS Quintin Demps, and OG Todd Herremans. Bradley, who donned a clean, trim hair-cut and dashing sunglasses, was the first of the Eagles players to arrive on the scene, and was greeted by a scattered applause from the hundreds of Eagles faithful "surviving" off cold sodas and ice cream in the hot weather. Happily signing autographs and even tossing a football to the crowd of fans as he entered, Bradley (pictured below, right) displayed a cool swagger and although this event is nothing to judge the players off of, he certainly looked anxious to play the 2009 season. The same can be said for Juqua Parker, who posed for photos and proudly wore a baseball cap in support of the Phillies who won the World Series in 2008, likely to symbolize that he hopes the same can be accomplished by the Eagles in the form of a Super Bowl. Quintin Demps (pictured above, left) and Todd Herremans were also upbeat in their appearances. Demps occasionally joked with fans and whenever an Eagles chant broke out among the crowd, he immediately joined in. Again, although this may not seem relevant in any way, the positive attitudes of the event can at least be taken in as a sign of what's hopefully to come this season. *The pictures in this post were not acquired via online sources, but rather through personal photography.