Philadelphia Sports Talk Host Puts Huge Wager on Eagles

Getty Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is a leading NFL MVP candidate yet Seattle is somehow a 1-point underdog.

Don’t call Angelo Cataldi a fair-weather fan. He’s predicting an Eagles victory and putting his money where his mouth is.

Cataldi, the legendary Philadelphia sports talker who hosts The Morning Show on 94WIP, often rips the Eagles — really, the entire football organization — when things aren’t running smoothly. And things certainly aren’t on an even keel right now.

Still, Cataldi believes the team is going to pull it out Sunday. It’s a gut feeling, one that he’s placed $100 of his own money on. He took the Birds to beat the Seahawks Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Straight up, no points. (Note: Eagles are considered one-point betting favorites, per most oddsmakers).

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The long-time broadcaster and Pulitizer Prize nominee has been beating the Eagles’ positivity drum all week on his popular morning show. He knows Doug Pederson’s squad plays their best when they are hungry and desperate. This is the perfect spot. Cataldi predicted a 26-24 win.

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The Legend of Angelo Cataldi and the ‘Dirty 30’

If the name Angelo Cataldi rings a bell, well, it should. He started his career as a well-respected sportswriter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and was nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, including one profiling the Eagles’ first season under then-coach Buddy Ryan in 1986. He transitioned into radio around 1988 after making a cameo on 94 WIP. He never left the station.

Perhaps his biggest claim to fame is the evolution of the “Dirty 30,” a loud, obnoxious group of 30 Eagles fans who traveled to New York City to boo Donovan McNabb at the 1999 NFL Draft. Cataldi, along with the majority of Philly, wanted the Eagles to select Ricky Williams with the No. 2 overall pick. Instead, Andy Reid used the pick on McNabb and turned him into a franchise quarterback.

McNabb never got over getting booed at the draft. He even brought it up at his recent induction into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Old habits die hard. But the seeds for that fateful day were planted on Cataldi’s radio show. They went up there to serenade McNabb with negativity.

Members of the “Dirty 30” still call “The Morning Show” today and analyze the Eagles on-air with Cataldi. It’s one of those dirty little secrets that everyone knows about and laughs about. Although there is one other high-profile name that deserves blame for the stunt: Ed Rendell.

“We were inspired by then-Mayor Ed Rendell’s endorsement of Ricky Williams as the Eagles draft pick in 1999,” Cataldi told The Inquirer in 2017. “It was all Mayor Rendell’s fault.”

McNabb Bet Big on Eagles to Win Super Bowl

Donovan McNabb and Angelo Cataldi now have something in common: they both bet big on the Eagles.

Prior to the season, McNabb famously placed a bet on the Eagles to win the Super Bowl at the DraftKings Sportsbook at Del Lago Resort in Rochester, NY. He put $100 down on the Birds for a possible $1,400 payout.

Philadelphia was a trendy pick to compete for a championship back in August and McNabb was applauded by Eagles fans for supporting his old team. Now? Well, he’d probably like to have that play back.