Philadelphia newspaper sends plea to Pope to fix Eagles

The Philadelphia Phillies are a lost cause this year, but the Eagles still have a chance to salvage their season. With Pope Francis scheduled to visit the City of Brotherly Love this weekend, the Philadelphia Daily News issued a plea for help on behalf of the Eagles, who fell to 0-2 with Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The newspaper posted a photograph of an Eagles fan dressed as the pope on Monday's front page with the headline, "Uh, While You're Here ...," along with the subhead, "Dear Francis: Our Team Is Clearly In Need Of Divine Intervention."

A group of Eagles fans launched a Change.org petition in August in which they plead with the pope to bless quarterback Sam Bradford's oft-injured knees.

The petition, which has more than 6,500 supporters, reads, "The Pope is coming to Philly! Our city! With this Eagles season coming up, a lot of our Super Bowl hopes rely on Sam Bradford's knees staying healthy. So, with one of the most religious representatives in the world visiting our wonderful place we call home, how about we get him to bless Bradford's knees during his visit to Philly! This town deserves a Super Bowl, and a healthy Bradford is the only way we will have a parade down Broad Street! Please sign this petition and Go Eagles and Welcome to Philly, Pope Francis!!!!"

Bradford endorsed the idea.

"If he wanted to bless my knee, then I'm all for it," he said.

Bradford also might want to ask the pope to bless his arm and eyes, too, as he's thrown four interceptions and only two touchdown passes in his first two games for Philadelphia.

The pope was probably miffed that the Eagles cut Tim Tebow, but he's a forgiver.

The Phillies (56-94), who have baseball's worst record and have lost six straight, celebrated the pope's visit by giving away commemorative Pope Francis "rookie cards" to fans at Wednesday's home game against the Washington Nationals. Unfortunately, the promotion hasn't changed the team's fortunes as the Phillies lost the game and haven't won since.

Perhaps signing a 79-year-old soccer nut from Argentina with no baseball experience isn't the best way to break out of a slump.