Philadelphia Eagles fans may have noticed their team wearing some coordinated shirts before their game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Following the team's 23-20 win over Buffalo, a few players explained the origins of the new garb.
Right tackle Lane Johnson explained that the shirts came from Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffery Lurie, who was inspired by the way the Eagles played against his hometown New England Patriots last week. That inspired Lurie to have the t-shirts made. Players wore them pregame, and several guys were wearing in the locker room after the game.
"He was pretty pissed because they took a Super Bowl from us back in ’04," Johnson said. "He was angry and he wanted us to be angry. We played angry and we ended up winning."
Eagles 53 Angry Men shirts. Comes from Jeff Lurie telling them to play angry before Pats win. #Eagles #AngryBirds pic.twitter.com/SBw94pkS6k
— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) December 13, 2015
Wide receiver Nelson Agholor was a little more coy when asked about the shirt's origins. "It’s a cool shirt," he said postgame. "It was in my locker, so I put it on.
"It’s a great saying and a great way to look at it. Because, at the end of the day, it’s an aggressive game. It’s a tough game for tough people. We’ve gotta come out there angry and play tough."
It's something like poetic justice that Lurie's shirts seemed to fire up the team during a week in which the owner's name was in the news a fair amount. And with the Arizona Cardinals coming to town next week, the Eagles can use all the extra juice they can get.