Everyone felt it - the front office, the coaches, the players and the fans. There were 25,000 people at Lehigh University at one practice, which was thought to be an NFL record then for largest Training Camp attendance at a non-stadium site. The roads leading to the athletic complex were so jammed on that Friday, August 6 morning that head coach Andy Reid needed a police escort to get to the field.
The Eagles had been to the NFC Championship Game three years in a row and while each of those games ended in disappointment, everyone knew this was a talented team and in the offseason it had added a dynamic receiver in Terrell Owens and a Pro Bowl pass rusher in Jevon Kearse.