Philadelphia sports fans have been given a bad reputation ever since the Santa-snowball incident from 1968. With the Eagles winning the Super Bowl for the first time in its organization’s history, you would expect the parade crowd to be absolutely chaotic.
After the historic Super Bowl win Sunday night, fans in the city of Philadelphia showed their excitement in many different ways. For some, it meant wearing green and chanting; for others, it meant vandalism. People climbed up poles, hung off of traffic lights and stood on top of awnings, some falling through during the process.
Despite the rowdy behavior days before, vandalism was not an issue at the parade. Everyone was in celebratory mode enjoying the passing of the floats filled with Eagles players. Although official numbers have yet to released, ESPN estimates that approximately 2 million people were at the parade.
This was more than just a championship for these fans. This meant so much more, and the city embraced it. The two hours of waiting in line for a train at 6 in the morning went smoothly due to everyone remaining calm. Even walking through the sidewalks of Broad Street went smoothly, considering there was about 200,000 people lined up along the road.
Tyler Monahan, a sophomore who attends Montclair State University, went to the parade and saw what Philadelphia sports fans are about.
“The whole experience was amazing and everyone was so happy to be here. Every worker and police officer was smiling, chanting the Eagles fight song,” Monahan said.
Monahan went on to explain how the whole city came together in peace and not wreckage for the parade to celebrate the Eagles’ first Super Bowl.
High school senior Victoria Rossi attributed the city celebrating more peacefully due to less alcohol and the fans having a couple days to come to grips with the victory.
“I think today was better because the parade was during the day. Nobody was really drinking that early in the morning,” Rossi said. She added that on Sunday night, “They had all Super Bowl night to drink and get drunk. They continue to go out and get even more drunk and then vandalize. Because the parade was so early in the morning and it was daylight out, I don’t think people got as drunk.”
Everywhere you walked, there was a smiling face, just appreciating the moment they were in. From the dancing cop hyping up all the fans to the young man who traveled from Florida to spread his grandfather’s ashes along the parade route, people were happy to be there.
This championship meant so much more than a trophy to this city’s fans. There was only two arrests made during the pandemonium of the parade. There were 2 people stabbed, but one of the stabbings may have had nothing to do with the parade. Everyone is okay and the victims in the stabbings are going to be fine, according to 6ABC news.
Commissioner Richard Ross said there were “small hiccups” during the parade; however, the parade remained mostly peaceful. This was not a time for rioting and destruction; the parade was a time for celebration and to reflect back on the amazing season this organization put together.
Thomas Sheilds, a sophomore who attends the University of Delaware, was not going to miss the parade. He said the atmosphere at the parade was like no other and that has everything to do with the fans bringing their energy.
“It was an awesome experience; the fans brought great energy,” Sheilds said. “We are all here just having a good time.”
The whole day was a milestone for the city and the fans of Philadelphia.
It was capped off by an inspiring speech by Eagles center Jason Kelce. Kelce discussed how the whole city and the fans deserve this championship.
Kelce said during his speech, “Any of you know who the biggest underdog is? It’s y’all, Philadelphia. For 52 years, y’all have been waiting for this. You want to talk about an underdog? You want to talk about a hungry dog? For 52 years, you’ve been starved of this championship.”
