Again, it was the official uniform pants that would have been a bridge too far.

But I refuse to believe that those dudes sporting the Kolb jerseys to the game on Sunday don’t have another jersey to wear. Anyone who buys a Kolb jersey has an intimate relationship with the Birds… they have a Dawkins jersey. They have a Westbrook jersey. And their relationship with the Birds is close enough to know what wearing that thing to a game means.

So yeah, they are cheering for McNabb to fail.

Those are probably the only 3 acceptable reasons for wearing the Kolb jersey.

I am truly bothered by Kolb jerseys at the stadium — to me, wearing that to a game in which you need #5 to do well to keep playoff hopes alive is akin to rooting for McNabb to have a poor showing, with Kolb to be inserted, a la the Ravens game. Maybe that’s not exactly what a fan of Kolb wants, but wearing the backup QB’s jersey (whether he be the heir to the throne or not) signifies that to me.

I get the point from BrianS about wanting to be early in having the next franchise star’s jersey, and showing support from the get go. And I also agree that wearing the jersey while McNabb is out there playing is far different from when McNabb was sitting, waiting for Pederson to finish his fill-in schtick.

I fully believe that someone who wants to be early with the jersey I guess should buy it, but then shouldn’t pull it out in the stadium.

It reminds me of a tale told be some guy sitting next to me at training camp this year. He was telling his buddy about how he bought his daughter for Christmas the jersey she’s wanted… a Kevin Kolb jersey. And now, she wears it for every game, boos McNabb and wants her guy in there. I guess he sort of got what he deserved in opening that can of worms… but in my mind these sorts of things send the wrong message.

Jersey-nomics can be sometimes very strange, and reflective of fan undercurrents. During the Garcia playoff run, I was shopping in a Chestnut Hill sports store and looked through the discount rack. Among the Eagles castoffs and underperformers (I don’t remember exactly who was there, perhaps Corey Simon, or perhaps Kearse) that were expected to be in the low sales, along with one surprising castoff–a green #5 jersey. Very odd. Understandably, after being injured in Game 10, McNabb was not the number one choice of buyers, while Garcia was taking the birds on his shoulders and to the playoffs. But the bargain bin? I think I paid $35 bucks for that high quality jersey and have happily worn it since.

I bought my first McNabb jersey, which was my first Eagles jersey ever, in August 1999, hoping that I could get many years of wear out of it (and I did, t hank you very much). Likewise, perhaps these persons have hoped that in getting the jersey of the assumed next franchise QB of the team, they’ve made a good long-term jersey investment.

However, I didn’t realize they weren’t available in the Eagles’ store, and had to be custom-made. That seems ridiculous. I wonder if they were being sold at normal prices after 2007 draft. Now that the Donovan McNabb era seems like it will go on at least into next season and Kevin Kolb looks like (albeit in an admittedly limited sample size) Kevin Krapp, it might not have been the wisest purchase either way.

However it was procured, the Kolb jersey seems to be a poor choice to wear to the game. “I’m going to wear the jersey of a backup who will only play under either tragic or garbage-time circumstances.” Sure, I wore my new McNabb jersey to a game that Doug Pederson started. But we all knew he was just a temporary place-holder and McNabb was the QB of the future. I guess it’s not so much the owning of a Kolb jersey that I find strange, it’s the “this is the one you decided to wear to the game?”

Sure, McNabb could have busted. My friend has a Hoying jersey that he still wears for our annual football game. But buying a McNabb jersey during the Pederson “era” and buying a Kolb jersey, when there’s still a franchise QB plying his trade in town, seems odd.

If McNabb’s traded in the offseason, I’ll understand if a lot of #4 jerseys are sold. Personally, I think I’ll wait this time around, just to make sure he’s good.