Graham Foley talks as if he has the best internship ever.
Well Eagles fans, maybe he does.
“I’m kind of amazed by it all,” said Foley, KLN ’20, the journalism major and self-described “writing nerd” who’s among the reporting and social media staff for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
Foley earned this super gig in late June and will work full-time through the fall semester, breaking from classes. He’s written updates from training camp, reports on star quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Nick Foles, player profiles, a guide to the Aug. 9 preseason game against the Steelers and a feature about the most popular Rita’s water ice flavor among the four varieties served at camp (mango) and the rookies tasked with delivering the treat to the veterans. His Twitter account documents the blast he’s having.
The hours are long but the money is good and the perks are unbelievable for the Eagles fan, he said, noting his office is in the media pit at the NovaCare Center and eats lunch alongside the team.
“I didn’t expect to get used to being around these players so regularly,” he said. “The fact that’s becoming normal to me is shocking — that I’m around these players and getting so used to it.”
Foley has written for the Temple News sports section, first soccer and then tennis, and also the City of Basketball Love website, covering high school and college games.
He contributed to a preseason Temple football podcast for owlscoop.com, a part of the the Yahoo! Sports Network, and will also intern for the site during the fall.
Few can appreciate the career-building potential of the Eagles internship more than Temple alumnus and adjunct journalism instructor John DiCarlo, who interned for the Eagles in the fall of 1997 and remained close with the “Eagles Insider,” team reporter Dave Spadaro.
DiCarlo, managing director for The Temple News, WHIP internet radio and the Templar yearbook, said he became familiar with Foley’s work with the Temple News and asked him to write for owlscoop.com, which DiCarlo edits. Foley’s report on a basketball game was written “clean,” and he proved to be a “super reliable” journalist and student in DiCarlo’s sports writing classes.
“He’s a graduate we’ll be talking about — perfect combination of talent and ability and reliability,” DiCarlo said about Foley.
The Eagles gig is as demanding as any job associated with a Super Bowl-champion NFL franchise can be, according to Foley.
Apart from sharing space with the players, Foley said he learns a lot working alongside veteran Eagles beat writers from the Philadelphia media market. “I’m standing on the sideline during training camp with the people I have read all my life.” Another great influence, he said, is a cousin, Pulitzer Prize-winning Inquirer education writer Kristen Graham.
Once the regular season kicks off, Foley said he will be busier than ever. And if the Eagles make it to the postseason, he said he will be looking forward to an incredible 21st birthday, on Feb. 3, 2019: Super Bowl Sunday.