The Philadelphia Eagles game Sunday was a costly one for Jeff Garcia. The Gilroy native bought 86 tickets for family and friends. The total tab was $5,000, Garcia noted.
“My mom’s out there collecting,” Garcia said with a smile after his new team, the Eagles had beaten his old team, the San Francisco 49ers, 38-24.
While he estimates more than 100 Gilroyans made the trek to Monster Park for Sunday’s game, he was oblivious to what was going on in the stands as he stood on the visitor’s sidelines the entire game wearing a white cap. He changed into his playing pants with a little more than seven minutes remaining and Philadelphia ahead by three touchdowns, thinking he might get into the game. It didn’t happen. And yet, the former Gilroy High and Gavilan quarterback wasn’t complaining.
“I thought there was a chance I might get onto the field,” Garcia said, shrugging. “I’m not taking anything away from what happened in the game. I want to help. Especially in the situation with the way things were, I was hoping. It didn’t happen. Oh well!”
What he meant by the situation was that it was Garcia’s first return to Monster Park since his 5-year career with San Francisco ended after the 2003 season and three straight Pro Bowl appearances.
Garcia, 36, had to change his mindset when he signed with the Eagles last March 16. He knew Donovan McNabb was the man, and that the only way he was likely to see any significant playing time was through an injury to the No.1 quarterback.
It was an unusual situation for Garcia who is sixth all-time in both lowest interception percentage and highest TD:interception ratio (McNabb is No. 2 in both categories). And yet, Garcia has accepted his role graciously, happy to get away from his last two years in the Midwest and teams that didn’t have a chance of reaching the playoffs.
Today, Garcia plays the role of the good soldier. He says the right things. He has earned the praise of Philadelphia coach Andy Reid, who notes that Garcia is doing a great job playing a backup role, that he is a good guy in the lockerroom, that he helps McNabb and that the Eagles wouldn’t hesitate to call on Garcia if the situation warranted.
Perhaps the situation warranted Sunday when the Eagles went ahead 38-17 in the fourth quarter. For whatever, reasons, NFL coaches are slow to change quarterbacks under any circumstances except injury, and so it didn’t happen. Garcia didn’t complain. He calls Philadelphia a “good, strong organization. As much as it’s hard not being on the field, it’s good to be a part of the situation. You have to put your selfishness aside.”
Besides, nothing was going to spoil Garcia’s homecoming, even if he did feel strange on the visitor’s side of the field. After all, it was the first time he had worn a uniform that said anything but 49ers on it at Monster Field.
After the game, he was able to meet and greet Joe Nedney, the 49ers kicker who Garcia held for at San Jose State when Nedney booted a school record 60-yard field goal at Wyoming in Oct. 1992, and San Francisco linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, a Morgan Hill resident and another former Gavilan player.
If the timing had been better for him, he could have watched the three Bay area teams he had been a part of this weekend. Gilroy high was at Garcia-Elder Field, the stadium he played a leading role in upgrading, Friday night, but the Eagles’ plane didn’t touch down until 8:30pm that night.
San Jose State was home Saturday afternoon, but he opted to spend three hours with his family and fiance, Carmella. Gavilan College was home Saturday night, but there were Eagles’ team meetings. (Incidentally, Garcia talks about raising money for Gavilan “to get some positive things for them” in the future.)
Nevertheless, just being on the West Coast was exhilarating for Garcia.
“When we landed and were getting on the bus, I got a whiff of West Coast air and it was wonderful,” Garcia said. “It was a nice, refreshing feeling. It was a real good feeling to be here, warming up and seeing familiar faces.
“It was strange being on the visitor’s sideline. It was a different feeling. I think back at the way it was (before he left San Francisco). When we played my last game here against the Seattle Seahawks, I didn’t imagine it would be the my last game here. I hoped things would work out and they would keep things going. At the time, things were still going well (for me). Then a lot of offensive players were let go, and it was like starting all over again. They wanted to go in a new direction.”
One of those players let go was Terrell Owens. It was no secret that Garcia and Owens didn’t see eye-to-eye. Of course, that same situation played out again in Philadelphia between Owens and McNabb. That’s a subject best left in the past, according to Garcia.
“There’s no need for us to be reminiscing about that,” Garcia said of any conversations between him and McNabb. “With the way the locker room is with Donovan, it’s a great situation in Philly. I want to be part of something special. As for the other guy (Owens), it’s nice that he’s not a thorn in our side. Now he’s a thorn in another side.”
That’s about as negative as Garcia got as he spoke. He wasn’t going to let anything spoil his homecoming before he boarded the plane Sunday night back to Philadelphia.
It certainly was worth the five grand Garcia said he spent on tickets. After all, that is chump change compared to the $350,000 he poured into making Garcia-Elder Complex a first class facility.
