Forget the taser guns, the vomiting on little girls, the stolen Montreal license plates and every other piece of dirt the national media want to focus on. Philadelphia fans are among the most loyal in the nation. Ask any athlete after their playing days and they’ll admit we’re hard, but fair. Anyone who doesn’t is likely named Rolen or Wagner.

Former All Pro running back Ricky Watters, a Harrisburg native, has nothing but admiration for the blue collar fans who filled Veterans Stadium when he played.

Ricky Watters loves the passion of Eagles fans and wishes he could have had a championship parade to end The Drought.

“I always say, Philly fans are tough, but they also — as much as they are on you — they praise you when you do well,” said Watters. “They’re in the game and not sitting on hands.”

Hey, if a guy we gave hell to because of his infamous “For Who? For What?” line can give us props, why can’t the national media?

OK, the national pundits want an example of how Philly fans treat athletes well. How about the following anecdote from the five-time Pro Bowler.

“My fondest memory of Eagles fans is when I went to Seattle. I didn’t know how I’d be received when I came back to play here,” he said. “I got a great ovation and saw No. 32 jerseys through the stands. People after game told me how much they appreciated my years there. That’s who they are as fans.”

He’s dead on accurate. We might get all over people, but we also recognize when a player spills his guts on the field and we appreciate and reward that. Those expecting us to boo McNabb when he returns this year will be madly disappointed.

For his part, Watters says he has one regret while playing in front of Eagle Nation.

“I definitely wanted to bring a championship there,” he said. “Getting one there would have been bringing it home because I’m from Harrisburg. All my all friends feel that way. I wanted to bring a winner there and did the best I could.

“The Philly area is and will always be home to me. I still feel at home every time I come back.”

Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg gave Philly an All-Pro running back in the mid 1990s. If everything goes according to plan, Eagle Nation may have to send donations to the high school’s football program for producing two top tailbacks.

LeSean “Shady” McCoy, forced into significant role due to concussions suffered by Brian Westbrook, exceeded expectations in his rookie year by rushing for a team rookie record 637 yards, and he found paydirt four times. He also caught 40 balls for more than 300 yards.

McCoy hails from the same high school as another name familiar to Eagles fans — Ricky Watters.

LeSean McCoy hails from the same high school as another former Eagles back — Ricky Watters.

Watters, who is helping kids via his Urban Youth League these days, takes pride in seeing another player from his alma mater manning the Eagles backfield.

“I heard about him before I even saw him play because he was coming from the same footsteps as me,” Watters said. “It’s cool to hear about and see a guy like me (in the NFL). It makes the alma mater look very good.”

Upon seeing him play in person and from afar, Watters continues to be impressed with the hard-nosed running style McCoy displays.

“The first time I saw him, he was slick,” the five-time Pro Bowler said. “Every time I watch him, he impresses me even more. Last year with much different competition and in a tough situation that he had to deal with, he did a great job.”

More important than the player on the field is the person in the community.

“I saw him at home at Super Bowl,” Watters said, “and he is a very cordial young man.”

Watters says he has talked to McCoy but wants to do more to help the second year back become an even better player.

“I’d love to help him even more because when I was young, if I had a guy to give me tips and cut up some of film with (I’d have been even better),” Watters said. “I’d like to do that for him.”

Like him or not, Watters could be a veteran presence, a sounding board, for McCoy. Maybe Andy Reid should extend the olive branch and bring Watters in for a couple days during training camp.

Pounding the ball into the end zone a Super Bowl record three times in SB XXIX. Running the Eagles to three playoff appearances without a legit NFL quarterback during the Ray Rhodes era. Having a stadium bursting with energy from your athletic prowess.

Ricky Watters was one of the better running backs of his era, especially in the West Coast Offense. But, none of the Harrisburg, PA, native’s accomplishments came without hard work, dedication and perseverance.

From growing up in foster homes, to being thought of as a diva by some NFL observers, Watters has never had it easy. Yet his hard-nosed work ethic carried him to a prolific Pro Bowl career.

Today, away from the spotlight, the cheers of 65,000 fans, and the high profile lifestyle that goes with being a top NFL running back, Watters is handing off life experience to children like him. Through his Urban Youth League outreach program, Watters offers guidance to kids who otherwise may fall through the cracks.

Ricky Watters has left the NFL life behind to help mentor disadvantaged youths.

To be clear, he doesn’t operate the Urban Youth League to get headlines or pump up his ego. All he needs to do is shine his Super Bowl ring to do that.

“I just try to take it as far as God is telling me to do it,” Watters says of the Foundation that once bore his name. “Whatever happens from that is fine; wherever it goes has to be good because it’s coming from heart and it is positive.

“I’m one of people that it’s not all about me. I took my name off of the foundation. I just want to be a part of the great things we do, and not the center of it. And, it’s not just money, but time, too.”

Today, Watters aims to motivate others to do well because, as trite as the expression is, he once walked and ran in their shoes.

“This was a natural thing to help and mentor kids and talk to the ones in group homes and foster care,” said Watters. “It was a natural progression. I was in foster care. After I retired, I changed the Foundation to the Urban Youth League and focused on ways to help them.”

One of the major parts of the Urban Youth League is the Urban Music League. Music was always a passion for Watters and he now uses that as a way to connect with kids and earn their respect and confidence.

Watters hit paydirt three times to help the 49ers win Super Bowl XXIX.

“I’ve done creative things and music for a long time,” Watters said. “I used to write poetry in high school and put it to music. I now use it to mentor kids. They all say they want to be that — musician, entertainer or baller. Once they realize I do this, the kids listen, see the studio in my house; it helps with mentoring them.“

Watters has really been able to build a connection with kids through music and, of course, football. He will hold the Ricky Watters Pro Football Experience on July 17-18 in Orlando, Florida.

“When I talk to people to work in group homes, they are amazed at what I can get out of kids in such short period of time because they are with him every day,” Watters said. “The kids, they loosen up and realize I’m one of them.”

One of the things that has really helped is the book he penned detailing his rough childhood, “Ricky Watters: A Warrior’s Journey.”

“Many kids don’t want to read,” said Watters. “Then, they read the book and realize what they have in common. It’s great because they change their position and want to talk about my life. They parallel my life and can relate to it.”

Ricky Watters is doing a lot to help youths tap into their potential.

He says the book has helped people other than him connect with kids, as well.

“People’s fathers say they’ve connected with sons through that book,” he says. “Everything has turned out better than the thought. I did it to express myself and it’s great because it’s helped people. It’s been special.”

For his part, Watters works with kids personally to help motivate them to get the most out of life. He gets them clothes, talks one-on-one, and brings them into his home.

“I want to get kids to take care of themselves, literally,” said Watters, “and put themselves in best light to be leaders in community. I want bunch of kids who want to give back to society instead of being a menace to society. I’ve dealt with kids in foster care and detention centers.

“When I was in Los Angeles, I worked with Jim Brown to stop violence. I worked with gang members who want to do better and put themselves in a position to be a viable member of society in positive way.”

If the kids listen to the advice and mentoring Watters is providing, they’ll be positive, contributing members of society.

To contact Ricky and lend support to the Urban Youth League, hit him up on his Facebook fan page. You can also check out his website.

At least one former Philadelphia Eagle thinks the Eagles would be foolish to trade Donovan McNabb.

“I’m not sure why they’d trade him,” Watters said in an interview Wednesday just hours before the trade rumor mill blew up. “If we had a quarterback like him when I played there, we would have been in a better position to win that championship I wanted to bring home to Philly.”

Watters was not trying to take a jab at Rodney Peete, Ty Detmer or Bobby Hoying. However, even though Detmer and Peete took the Eagles to the playoffs, neither were in the same stratosphere as McNabb.

When Watters made these comments, the McNabb rumor mill had not yet exploded. He was surprised to hear that the fans and media were calling for the Pro Bowl signal caller to be shipped out of town this offseason.

As I said to Watters, I remember Eagles football before McNabb and don’t want to go back to that anytime soon.

Watters reminded us that it’s not often you get a perrenial Pro Bowl quarterback like McNabb. We couldn’t agree more.

Look for more from our interview with Watters on DailyPhiladelphian.com over the next two days.

World Phucking Champs, no more. Back to being the bridesmaid. This is Philly. Second place is normalcy.

Being on top of the baseball world was fun while it lasted. All 371 days to be exact. We were champions and the exuberance we felt running through our veins, the effervescence flowing from our bodies was unparalleled.

Being a champion was fun while it lasted.

But, were we ever really comfortable being champs? A generation-plus of sports fans in Philly had no clue what winning felt like. Once we achieved the pinnacle, did we really know what we were supposed to do? Or, did we start to lose our identity?

Following a championship, people were nicer and opened doors for each other. The chip on our collective shoulders was gone.

We didn’t boo our beloved Phillies as much as we did before Uncle Charlie hoisted the championship trophy on a crisp October night in 2008. Even Charlie himself said that early in the season when his team wasn’t playing well. We had gone soft.

For once, the City of Brotherly Love was not an oxymoron. We had a team we loved like brothers and respected like the champions they were.

Sure, there was the occasional discontent among the fans that was aired on talk radio. However, it wasn’t as brazen as it had been during The Drought.

When Brad Lidge struggled early in the year, many fans said to give Lidge more time. You couldn’t expect perfection each year. At about the eighth blown save, those fans eventually came around. In the past, the catcalls would have rained down after the third or fourth blown save. The result of a champsionship was that we had become nicer.

But, wasn’t that just human nature? Or, were we supposed to react the same way we did before the championship? Was it too greedy to rip a championship team apart because you wanted a second title?

The truth is, we didn’t know how to respond. And, we still don’t. As a city, we hadn’t been in this position in 25 years (28 years for the Phillies).

Even as recently as Monday morning, the fans ire wasn’t what it would have, or even should have been. When Brad Lidge and Pedro Feliz bumbled Game 4 and the World Series away late Sunday night, you expected pure outrage. Think Donovan McNabb puking-and-not-calling-timeout-in-the-Super Bowl outrage.

Instead, people were more numb than angered. Fans were upset, but instead of decibel-level breaking boos, the crowd got fairly quiet, fairly quickly. The tone on talk radio the following morning was more laid back in the “I feel like I got kicked in the nutsack” way. The true anger lacked.

In the past, those players would have been lambasted.

The only player to receive some negative feedback was Cole Hamels when his comments about wanting a fresh start were taken out of context. Cole is a laid back Californian, so it was easy to misdirect the frustration solely toward him. However, even then, he didn’t get the same treatment that Ricky Watters did following his infamous “For who? For what?” comments. People will be harder on Cole next year now that we’re no longer champs.

Even today, as we wake up following another championship defeat, the feeling isn’t what it should be. The mood is more of “we lost, but we’re happy with the run and to have been there again.”

Don’t get me wrong. We should be proud of the Phillies and thankful for the three-year run they have given us to date. They did end the championship drought. Uncle Charlie could and should be elected mayor tomorrow.

However, the Yankees weren’t clearly the better team. The Phillies could have won the series with a couple of balls bouncing their way. To be happy to have been there is unacceptable. Where is the sadness and the anger that we’re used to?

It’s not there because we didn’t know how to act as champions. The collective fan base hasn’t been itself.

Today that can and will change. Dig deep down and pull out the brazen, hardcore, chip-on-the-shoulder fanatic. It’s who we are. Honk your horn and flip the finger to a New Yorker. Throw a snowball at a Mets fan this winter. It’ll make everything normal.