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Laura Beke
IRVING, Texas - Groovy bell bottoms, polyester shirts, long hair, pennant flags dancing, with a sea of green, blue, gray . . . and flowers? Screaming fans, banners up everywhere, reel cameras and the Eagles are playing the Cowboys again for the second time in three weeks at Texas Stadium? "Go Cowboys" being chanted, cheerleaders on the sidelines in their go-go boots, waving pom-poms illuminated in the sunlight, along with Tom Landry, Roger Staubach and Dick Vermeil meeting once again on the "battlefield." What gives here?
Yes, we are in the year 2005, but Texas Stadium was transformed back to the '70s last week when Disney came to town for the filming of their newest motion picture, Invincible -- an inspirational biography based on Philly's hometown boy Vince Papale (played by Mark Wahlberg) who overcame the longest of odds to make his dream come true when he caught the eye of then Philadelphia first-year head coach Dick Vermeil in 1976 during an open, free-agent tryout to make the team. This is a classic down-on-his-luck, part-time bartender deciding to take a long-shot chance, this one act of serendipity changing his life forever. The 30-year-old rookie in 1976, who had never even played high school or college football but began his pro career with two years as a member of the WFL's Philadelphia Bell, had been a season ticket holder for the Eagles since 1966 before embarking on what turned out to be a three-year NFL career, and couldn't believe he was standing in the same place almost three decades later. "[To] return 30 years after the scene of the crime right here at Texas Stadium, that was weird walking in here," said Papale, who was on the scene last week while this portion of the movie was being filmed.
But how could he forget that on Sept. 12, 1976, "Rocky" Papale, No. 83 and playing wide receiver and special teams for the Eagles, was living a lifetime fantasy by "standing on the sideline in the sun, seeing Tom Landry, Too Tall Jones, Roger Staubach, Randy White," he says, still seeming to have stars in his eyes. "I remember it as if it were yesterday and it's a bitter-sweet thing." "Rocky," a nickname given to Papale by the fans in Philly, came from "the cheap seats" and was soon to be the hometown hero and inspiration for the Eagles and those hard-core Philly football fans. Now things didn't start off too well for Papale in his NFL debut that day at Texas Stadium, not only the Eagles getting beat by the Cowboys, 27-7, but he made little impact on special teams. He felt as if he had failed by not producing the way he did during preseason, and knew he needed to make some impact when the Eagles returned home the next week for the second game of the season against the Giants. "[Papale] went to Texas Stadium first and failed at his first game but then went home and had to get his mojo back and had a great game; causing a fumble and won the game basically," said the film's producer Mark Ciardi when asked about the significance of shooting at Texas Stadium. "Getting his mojo back" is exactly what "Rocky" did against the Giants Sept. 19 at Veterans Stadium, setting up the final Eagles touchdown when he recovered a fumbled punt return on the Giants three-yard line to help the Eagles win the game, 20-7. Papale might have only played three years in the NFL (1976-1978), but as he looks back, with a movie now being made about his long-odds tale, he says, "It's exciting now to look at it from the sideline. I have no desire to get out there and get crushed again. "It's wild, humbling, spooky, and it's amazing they are doing it about a guy who is still alive. I pinch myself everyday and thank God for all of this." It's a story of a legend in Philadelphia, the trials and tribulations of Vince Papale on and off the field. It's about a hometown boy who moved from the cheap seats to the field, changing his entire life by deciding to take one of the longest of shots - and it all started right here at Texas Stadium in that '70's sea of polyester and shaggy hair. |
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