Two-week-old report regarding Eagles’ supposed plan to skip White House visits catches fire

Last Sunday, an 11-year-old story was resurrected. This Sunday, a two-week-old story finally got its wings.

And it’s currently flying like an eagle.

The U.S. Sun reported — three days before the Super Bowl was played — that the Eagles would not visit the White House if they win Super Bowl LIX. The report apparently was sparked by a question posed to owner Jeffrey Lurie regarding whether the Eagles would visit or boycott.

“I just want to win on Sunday,” Lurie said at the time.

The report was largely ignored until Sunday, when the @PHLEaglesNation account on Twitter posted about it.

The Eagles have not said anything about whether they will or won’t visit the White House. In 2018, after the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, they did not go to the White House, primarily in response to the lingering hostilities between President Trump and the NFL over the national anthem. Currently, there’s no specific source of consternation between the White House and the league. (That can change, of course, at any moment.)

Regardless, the outrage echo chamber has been activated. To no surprise. That’s the business model. It fuels the algorithm, maximizes engagement, and ultimately makes money.

The Eagles have, so far, issued no statement or comment on the situation. Per the team, they won’t be commenting. Even if they provided a full-throated denial, it would be too late to keep the perpetual golden-goose grievance machine from activating.

Then again, it probably won’t matter. Once the endless fountain of pissing and moaning starts churning, it doesn’t matter whether it’s spraying water or bullshit.