Carson Wentz was quick to answer how he feels about losing. "I hate losing. I fit right in," the quarterback and No. 2 overall pick said at his introductory press conference last week.
That answer, as Wentz is already well aware of, embodies the Philadelphia fans. Losing, even when it comes few and far between, isn't fun. Losing consistently, whether in a single individual season or the overall lack of playoff success, is almost unbearable.
Through the years, every team playing in Philadelphia, still a major market with big-name ownership and money galore, has taken the risks to become winners instantly. It has never worked and seldom does in professional sports. When the Phillies gave the city a taste of winning with a World Series in 2008 and made the World Series again in 2009, it felt like at least one team was on the path to continuous success.
But in recent years, the Flyers of the NHL and Phillies of MLB — and even the Sixers to some degree, pending on how you feel about the "process" — have asked their fans to have patience and that success would be coming soon. Development of players that would eventually help these teams get there was taking place.
The Flyers made the playoffs this season, in large part due to rookie sensation Shayne Gostisbehere, who on Monday was named a finalist for NHL Rookie of the Year. The Phillies for now have Maikel Franco and Aaron Nola and there are a whole host of others waiting to make a similar impact and create that kind of noise with their call-ups.
With the selection of Carson Wentz, the Eagles took a page out of the playbook that has become a sort of custom in Philadelphia sports. They are asking patience. They are asking for time. But they gave you a prospect to get excited about, even if his time is not here just yet and even if it involved taking a risk.
Patience. We've heard the word so many times. And in the past season, more than ever before, the tease of almost every team in the city giving you a first look at a player that has so much potential can get fans antsy and eager to get there faster.
But like Gostisbehere with the Flyers or Franco and Nola with the Phillies, when Wentz's day comes, so will the expectations. At some point in time, opponents put all their focus on that player, and that can lead to adversity.
Wentz's task is a little different than any other prospect in Philadelphia, though. The Eagles and Philadelphia fans are longing for that first Super Bowl win, the first NFL championship in over 50 years. During the Chip Kelly era, reality set in. Even with the innovation and unusual methods of the former Oregon head coach, the Eagles were getting no closer to achieving that goal.
Coaching wise, it was a trip back to basics, to a coach in Doug Pederson who knew the style of the former Eagles coach that spent 14 seasons manning the sidelines, Andy Reid. From a quarterback standpoint, it was time to start over.
There was a sense of that in Chip Kelly's days too, but the price tag for an instant starter was too high. Hence, no Marcus Mariota and a flyer on Wentz.
The Eagles took a necessary step to try to become a Super Bowl contender. It is too early to tell whether it will work or not, but just like the rest of the teams in the city, the Eagles went the development route, molding a prospect behind new coaching and years of learning before getting the chance to prove himself on the field.
It may not be the answer that fans want to hear in this day, with only one team carrying some form of playoff aspirations. But the long-term success makes a lot of difference. If the Eagles don't success in the first two seasons while Wentz develops, but prove to be right in letting him observe before he plays, then it is obviously the right move.
It's what the past has taught us. Short-term success is all well and good, and a team may catch fire and sprint to the finish. But more times than not, the teams that build for long-term success and develop their players are the ones consistently succeeding.
That is the path the Eagles are on, just like their Philadelphia brethren. It may be another request to wait and see what happens or wait for the success that is being promised to come, but as with the other teams in the city, it may be worth it. That lies with Wentz, who has the task of being the savior of Eagles football, even if his first chance to play doesn't come for a couple more seasons.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
