Freddie Mitchell Got Fingered

Okay, today’s a very sports-related (but all kind of tangential), and for that, I apologize. No, wait, no I don’t. This story, though, could be a boon for all Philadelphians: The Philadelphia Soul are looking to sign Freddie Mitchell.

For those who may not know, the Philadelphia Soul is the Arena League Football team in the city; the rules are different from regular football: it’s played indoors, there are only eight players to a side, there are walls, et cetera.

Freddie Mitchell holds a special place in my life and in the lives of most Philadelphians, for several reasons. For one, Mitchell caught the infamous “4th & 26″ pass, that saved the Eagles from a seemingly sure loss to the Packers in the 2004 NFC Divisional Playoffs. (The Eagles would, of course, lose the next game. But it was fun for a week.)

Not only that, but after scoring twice in the 2005 NFC Divisional Playoffs, he gave a ridiculous press conference where he talked about how he’d “like to thank his hands.” Then, after the loss in the Super Bowl, he said they should have thrown the ball to Freddie more.

In my life, though, there’s another special reason: Freddie Mitchell showed up on back-to-back nights (the second night, bringing Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter with him) at a bar on campus when I was in college. Yes, he’s quite the football player.

It seems unlikely that Mitchell would sign up with the Soul — he’d have to take a huge pay cut — but think of the possibilities. Players go both ways in Arena football, which means Freddie would have to put his ego aside and play some defense. Now that’s something we’d all like to see.

Soul eyeing Freddie Mitchell [DN]