What if Joe Banner could do it over?
Banner, who was removed from his position as Eagles team president last week, was asked Monday on 94 WIPs morning show if he would want to be such a public figure if given another chance in the same position.
Whether fair or not, in my mind, frequently not fairly, I became a lightning rod as opposed to a voice in the organization, Banner said told the radio station. Once you become a lightning rod, you cant be very effective.
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In other words, Banner believes he often became the enemy in the public eye.
According to him, fans never really knew the full story of what went on behind closed doors, but they tried to piece together the answer with the information they did have.
They can never hear from us for any explanation, or even just a successful deal, how did it come down or hear the story to how it happened," he said. "They probably still dont appreciate how many lightning strikes there were.
But if being the lightning rod was what it took to win a Super Bowlif somebody had to be the bad guyBanner didnt mind that it was him.
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"I mean for me, what drove me was, us trying to be successful and trying to win a championship, and if that was sometimes or frequently aided by me needing to be a lightning rod, that was just not a difficult choice for me at all," he said. I could live with that. I knew and the people I was working closely withknow who I am and know what I do and what I was contributing.
The distance Banner had between himself and the players, himself and the fans, was frequently read as an indifference to results. And that was the only thing Banner didnt like.
I've had a passionate appreciation for our fans and an incredible desire personally both for myself and them and the entire city to win a championship -- at times that's been questioned," he said. "Not myself nor under the direction of Jeff Lurie has anything ever been more important than winning or trying to do the best we could for the city and the fans.
The part that probably I had some sensitivity was being perceived as not caring deeply about the team or the fans or being driven to win a championship, That was a perception that was out there that didnt necessarily feel fair to me."