Reader Request

It's been many, many years since I've been to Eagles' training camp (I think I still have Mike Quick's autograph somewhere), so I'm not really equipped to answer this reader question:

Can you give me a quick idea of what a day at training camp is like.  I was thinking of going on Friday but wasn't sure about the schedule.  The schedule has practice at 8am and 2pm.
 
It looks like the morning practice is about 2 hours.  So what happens between the end of the morning practice (10am) and the afternoon practice (2pm)?  What do people do during this time?

If you have any advice, pop it into the comments.  Thanks all.

Comments

[BrianS]

Hey, I've been at camp the past 2 years. Probably can't make it this year, though.

In 2006 I went up at one of the last days of camp. Last year, I went up in one of the first days, so I could see a full-contact practice.

Two totally different experiences -- early in camp is PACKED. Really late in camp, not nearly as crowded, but still people in the bleachers. There's more to do early in camp, radio stations up there, better selection of souvenirs, increased chance of seeing cheerleaders or Merrill Reese. The downside is the crowds and traffic. My buddy came over from Trenton and ended up being two hours late.

First of all, if you go early in camp and want to sit in the bleachers at the main field, get there early. There was a line there at 7:00am last year. Traffic can be a problem depending on where you're coming from.

So, anyway, to actually answer your question. Last year, when I went during a crowded time, we were concerned about traffic if we left for lunch, so my friends and I just hung out during the break between practices. It's kind of boring, it was 100 degrees so tossing the football around got old quick, so basically we bought souvenirs (exactly what the team wants us to do!) and ate water ice the whole time. There's autograph tents too that you get tickets for, but if I remember correctly it's some form of lottery and our numbers didn't get called. It was ok, we were mainly concerned with making sure we got good seats for the afternoon practices.

The year before, when it wasn't so crowded, I drove over to downtown Bethlehem, got a slice of pizza, and walked around a little. Getting back to Lehigh was sort of tricky, but I think there's restaurants nearer by, too.

I'd like to see other people's opinions on this, but I thought the difference between the contact and non-contact practices probably wasn't enough to make me brave the crowds of the first week of camp again, but I'm glad I did it once.

Honestly, it's not the most interesting thing in the world (but you'd probably get more out of it if you're a former player or at least an expert enough to break down film), but if you're really jonesing for football, you'll still probably be glad you went.

Be sure take your camera -- you'll be able to get some great pics, too.

[Tracer Bullet]

Between practices, everybody 1) Buys overpriced crap in the souvenir tent, 2) Gets something to eat or 3) Recovers from heat stroke.

Non-contact practices are boring as all hell.