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Revision as of 14:08, 25 December 2004 by TOttenville8 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Todd Pinkston (born April 23, 1977) is an American professional football player. He currently plays wide receiver for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
After attending the University of Southern Mississippi, Pinkston was selected in the second round of the 2000 draft by the Eagles. Despite the impressive statistics he compiled at Southern Mississippi, many observers questioned the wisdom of selecting Pinkston that soon in the draft, mainly due to his thin, angular body build: At 6 feet 2 inches tall, Pinkston reportedly weighed only 167 pounds at the time of the draft; this is about 30 pounds lighter than what a typical NFL player at his position weighs at the same height.
Not only has Pinkston enjoyed at best only moderate success in his NFL career, but he has also come under intense criticism from the notoriously unforgiving media and fan base in Philadelphia for his frequent dropped passes (leading to the label "Alligator Arms" being appended to him), his tendency to shy away from physical contact, and his repeated underperforming in important games: In the 2003 NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers (actually played on January 18, 2004), for example, Pinkston neglected to catch a pass the entire game despite being covered by a Panthers cornerback, Ricky Manning Jr., who at 5'8" is six inches shorter than Pinkston (the Eagles, favored in the game and playing at home, lost 14-3, the third consecutive defeat suffered by the team in the conference title game). The criticism turned particularly harsh after a game against the Redskins in Washington on December 12, 2004, when Pinkston slid into the turf at the 4-yard line in an effort to avoid being hit by a Washington safety. The resulting drive yielded no points for the Eagles when fellow wide receiver Terrell Owens fumbled on the next play. The Eagles did go on to win the game, 17-14, yet this fact did little to mitigate the disgust many felt over the play.
Indeed, Pinkston's travails have led to a parody of the Eagles' fight song being composed. The lyrics of this parody are:
- Cry Pinkston cry,
- On the road to misery.
- Cry Pinkston cry,
- Drop a touchdown, one two three.
- Hit him low, hit him high,
- And watch that Pinkston cry.
- Cry Pinkston cry,
- On the road to misery.
In addition, Pinkston is derisively referred to as "Stinkston" by many Eagles fans, and has inspired the creation of an unflattering video game called "Pass To Pinky."