A sea of green covered the streets of South Philadelphia and Center City Friday as an estimated $1 million Eagles fans cheered on the Super Bowl 59 champions. The Eagles were all smiles as team buses traveled northbound on Broad Street enroute to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Boisterous fans busted out Eagles chants and sang the Birds fight song as their heroes tossed green beads to fans along the parade route. Emotion ran high at all points of the parade.
Colin Haury, 19, of Wilmington, wasn’t a football fan when the Eagles beat the Patriots in Minneapolis in 2018. However, Haury, is a diehard now. “It seems like forever since we last won a Super Bowl,” Haury said. “But last time I didn’t know much about football but this is incredible. E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!”
Bobby Minelli, 54, of South Philadelphia, has a different perspective. Minelli spent much of his life waiting for his beloved Birds to win it all and he attended his second parade within a decade.
“This means the world to me,” Minelli said. “I go to as many games as possible and it’s just unreal to have another parade so soon. We waited so long to win a Super Bowl and now just seven-years later we won another one. It’s unreal.”
Minelli was wise enough to catch the festivities from Broad and Morris streets, which is blocks from his house. Only locals and savvy fans know that the start of the parade route is much less populated than City Hall. Trent Halsey, 23, of Willow Grove was wise enough to hang out just off of Morris street and was rewarded with a high five from massive left tackle Jordan Mailata.
“I’ll never forget this moment,” Halsey said. “One of my favorite players came over and celebrated with me. It’s just awesome.”
Chris Wilson, 29, of Norristown, was on the edge of losing his voice at City Hall since he was screaming at his favorite players as they passed. Wilson, clad in a Jalen Carter jersey, was ecstatic. “You wear the green and you die for this team,” Wilson said. “This is my favorite team in sports and I’ll never forget how they destroyed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.”
The Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in New Orleans but the score doesn’t indicate how Philadelphia dominated the favored team that was going for a three-peat. The Eagles led 34-0 and it was obvious that a huge celebration in Philadelphia was on the horizon.
“We can’t do without the fans,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “We can’t do without the fans. We all appreciate you. We love you.”
It was the first time Hurts visited the museum by design. Hurts is well aware that the steps were featured in the iconic film “Rocky” since Sylvester Stallone, who played fictional Philly fighter Rocky Balboa ran up the stairs while preparing for a heavyweight title fight. “I told myself that when I got drafted that I wouldn’t come to the Rocky steps until I won the championship and now here we are,” Hurts said.
It’s appropriate since the Eagles were Super Bowl underdogs and Rocky wasn’t the favorite during his title fight.
But the Eagles are the odds-on favorite to repeat next season. Perhaps there will be back-to-back parades in the City of Brotherly Love. “That would be awesome,” Nicky Falsano, 28, of Fairmount said. “Let’s meet back here again next year. Same time, same place. Go Birds!”