A few days shy of his 10th birthday, Wendell Smallwood had his eyes glued to the television on a chilly January night as his Eagles took on the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round of the 2003 playoffs. His face was covered in a strange brand of paint, one he now knows wasn’t intended to be used on his skin, and his mother, Nichelle, couldn’t help but voice her displeasure with that decision.
None of that mattered to Smallwood at the time. All he was concerned about was the outcome of the game, and he wanted a Philadelphia victory more than anything else.