Posted on 02/02/2005 7:44:10 AM PST by wjersey
For James Phillips' sake, the Eagles need to win the Super Bowl.
Or his sacrifice was all for naught.
"They better win the Super Bowl after all I went through," Phillips said tonight from his hospital bed, mopping the sweat from his brow with bandages that are wrapped around both of his hands. He said doctors have told him that they are going to have to cut off the tips of the pinky, ring and middle finger on his left hand due to severe frostbite.
Phillips, of Marcus Hook, worked for 30 hours shoveling snow at Lincoln Financial Field the night before the Jan. 23 NFC championship game against the Falcons, and then, as a reward for his hard work, stayed to watch the game. And he did it all without wearing gloves.
"I'm kind of an Eagles aficionado so I overlooked it. My fanaticism for the Eagles is going to cost me something, but if I would have thought that it would be something like frostbite I would have used precaution," Phillips said.
A representative for the Eagles was not available for comment tonight.
Phillips, 48, was one of hundreds of adrenaline-pumped Eagles fans who braved the foot of snow that fell on the city that weekend to clean the field for fans and players.
Phillips said he heard a radio advertisement that the shovelers could earn $8.50 an hour. He said he didn't realize that he'd be invited to watch the game from the field.
"We live and die Eagles in this city. I mean there were people on e-bay paying $1,300 for those seats and I got to see it for free," Phillips said.
After the game he rushed to a SEPTA bus on Broad Street with his right hand bleeding. He couldn't even pay his fare. He sat on the bus, using his left hand to catch the blood dripping from his right hand. He saw a police officer at Broad and Cumberland and asked the officer to escort him to the hospital.
"I felt like someone locked me into a freezer," he said.
Now Phillips will be watching the Super Bowl from his bed at Temple University Hospital. He will have to fidget with a remote control or get a nurse to change the channel for him. But he still smiles when he romanticizes about who will be named most valuable player: McNabb, Owens or Westbrook.
"Fanaticism is something that takes on a whole different form," he said, shaking his head.
A fool and his fingers are soon parted...
Oops...somebody already posted basically the same thing early on in the thread....my bad...OK, how about "many are cold, but few are frozen"?
I feel sorry for him but with all due respect to the Eagles, they are going to be CRUSHED this Sunday. I may be embarassed that I live sKerry & Teddy K's home state but those Pats suuuure make me proud!
Did TO's announcement move the line that much?
Possible, I wasn't there, and you would think the work crew supervisor would have taken a little extra care to ensure his crew was properly prepared for the task.
I still stand by mine and your assessment that he probably wasn't very cognitive.
Cheers!
This dummy ended up suing the Philadelphia Eagles for frostbite. Does anybody know the outcome of that lawsuit?
I did an internet search and saw that this guy sued the Philadelphia Eagles shortly after having had some of his fingers amputated, but cannot find the results of the litigation.
This story has still not been resolved. I will do some internet searches and try to find out on my own.
Man Faces Amputations After Working At Eagles GamePhillips So Excited He Forget To Put On Gloves
PHILADELPHIA -- A local man said he shoveled snow at Lincoln Financial Field for 30 hours getting ready for the big NFC championship game, and now he is in the hospital, in danger of losing his fingers, his toes, his ears and possibly his nose.
James Phillips said he didn't wear gloves because he was so excited about the game. He ended up with frostbite.
"Believe it, we are the Eagles' 12th man," Phillips said excitedly at the time.
Phillips was one of 1,000 people hired to get the snow out of the Linc. When it snowed a second and a third time overnight, Phillips said some quit, but not him.
He even got to stay for the game and have some words with Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.
"I said, 'Not today, Mike.' I said, 'On the 50-yard line, I left a nice little pile of snow for you and some ice,'" Phillips said.
But when everyone was celebrating the win, he said, he knew he was in trouble.
"I felt like someone had pushed me inside of a freezer. It's such a simple thing -- you must be prepared for the weather. The weather's no joke," Phillips said regretfully.
He told NBC 10's Lu Ann Cahn that he was so excited and had so much adrenalin going that he wasn't paying attention to the fact that he had no gloves on. He ended up in Temple University Hospital.
"I waited so long for the Eagles to win and it is so joyful. I would do it again, actually," Phillips said.
Phillips' fingers and toes were so disturbingly swollen and green and black from frostbite, NBC 10 couldn’t show close-up video of his injuries.
Doctors say it looks like Phillips will be watching the Super Bowl from a hospital bed.
"All I need now is a win. I need a win," Phillips said.
Doctors say it will be a couple of weeks before they know if Phillips will lose his fingers or toes.
During winter, I often have gloves with me. You really need them for that cold and snowy weather.
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