Boos Cruise

THE EAGLES have just gone three and out on their first possession of the 2007 season, then botched their first punt return and given the Packers a touchdown. You just know that the WIP piranhas are happy as hell to be smelling blood in the water already. Never has such sustained success in Philadelphia been met by such derision from the hometown fans. For the better part of a decade the Eagles have been the class of the NFC, rising from the dregs of the Norman Braman era to an almost perennial Super Bowl contender, but to hear the critics gripe, you'd think the team had been mired in last place since Steve Van Buren retired. Jeff Lurie, Andy Reid, and Donovan McNabb have combined to lead a consistently contending effort, year in and year out, but the Birds' most rabid fans prefer to focus on what hasn't been accomplished, not what has. Even by this city's absurdly demanding standards, the disdain we've shown for the Eagles and those who have brought them unprecedented success has been ridiculous.