Daybreak Staley had work just a few hours earlier than the Tremendous Bowl. Logically, ESPN and the SEC thought early that afternoon on Tremendous Bowl Sunday would offer a fantastic window to characteristic her defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks in opposition to Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers. Certainly the programmers knew that the Philadelphia Eagles could be a critical Tremendous Bowl contender this season, however they nonetheless pressured Philly icon Staley to delay her preparations to observe her soccer group play for the title.

The Eagles did find yourself making the Tremendous Bowl, however Staley’s hours on the workplace earlier than kickoff additionally turned out to be her most vital to this point of the 2022-23 season. The South Carolina vs. LSU matinee was a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2, each undefeated. Staley’s group dealt with enterprise with an 88-64 victory at house. The at all times modern coach additionally selected to start the day in her Tremendous Bowl most interesting with a Randall Cunningham throwback jersey.

He was a star for the Eagles within the late Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties. On his traditional Sports activities Illustrated cowl, the journal titled the problem, “The Final Weapon.” The pace, the agility, the arm, all of it left many defensive coordinators popping up away from bed with chilly sweats in the course of the evening.

Randall Cunningham’s legacy

Sadly for Cunningham, he solely gained one playoff sport for the Eagles. The spotlight performs, twice being named second-team All-Professional, and the Comeback Participant of the 12 months award in 1992, none of it resulted in a championship-caliber group.

These failures, nonetheless, weren’t for an absence of effort. Cunningham joined an Eagles group that with him at quarterback rapidly went from league doormat to perennial playoff participant. However infighting, low-cost possession, Cunningham’s 1991 ACL damage, habit, and tragedy stored the group in a holding sample.

Nonetheless, whereas his most profitable season was his sole first-team All-Professional efficiency with the 15-1,1998 Minnesota Vikings, those that noticed him play for the Eagles keep in mind Cunningham’s all-world expertise.

That expertise actually must be remembered on this Tremendous Bowl Sunday with two Black quarterbacks matching up for the primary time with that championship on the road.

Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts each have somewhat little bit of Cunningham of their video games. Mahomes has a mind-boggling skill to elude cross rushers within the pocket in addition to the electrical arm. Hurts has the energy and athleticism to steer a playoff group in dashing. What Mahomes and Hurts share that Cunningham didn’t have for a lot of his profession, is that they play for organizations which have labored to place each gamers in the very best place to succeed.

Many Black quarterbacks like Cunningham have been put in lower than secure conditions and shouldered a lot blame when their skills couldn’t overcome poor franchise administration.

Staley didn’t get to see an Eagles’ championship till she performed a complete skilled basketball profession after which grew to become a coach. Nonetheless, she clearly remembers that Cunningham is without doubt one of the finest to ever play house video games in South Philadelphia, and she or he made a degree to offer him his flowers on nationwide tv.