Sights And Sounds Of Eagles Parade From A Different Perspective

MY COUCH – This was the best place to be, my five-month-old puppy, Mabel, curled up next to me. She snoozed. I watched on TV. It was the best view, especially after being around this special 2024 Eagles team since OTAs began in May all the way through enjoying the locker room bedlam following their destruction of the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9. The whipping came not far from Bourbon Street and the French Quarter at Caesars Superdome days before the championship parade began its journey up Broad Street to the Ben Franklin Parkway.

Fans began lining up on Thursday evening to make sure they had a front row street for it all, no matter how close the temperature tumbled toward zero. The few hundred brave souls – heck, maybe it was thousands – were joined by, who knows, 1 million more, maybe, spread out from South Philly to Center Philly and the Art Museum steps?

As the players rolled along so many scenes were brilliantly captured by my friends in the media.

Here are some:

-The Philadelphia Police did the tush push on one of the parade blocks.

-Saquon Barkley spotted a young fan in the crowd, holding a sign that indicated it was her 3rd birthday. He reached out to her and stood on the other side of the barrier holding her in his arms while her family and those in the area snapped cell phone pictures that will last a lifetime in scrapbooks.

Barkley saw a ball boy who worked for the team on the fans’ side of the barrier and hoisted him over so he could march along with them.

It was Barkley again who was shown sitting on top of the Art Museum steps just taking in the scene, with a sea of green stretched out about as far as the eye could see. Imagine what was going through the head of a young man who grew up an hour outside of the city in the Lehigh Valley – a hometown kid who did better than good. Goosebumps.

philadelphia eagles — Fans gather along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl victory parade Friday, February 14, 2025. | Thomas P. Costello / Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

-There was standout rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, so buttoned up and laser-focused through every interview he had all season, was feeling loose, and when a microphone was put in front of him this time, he let loose with a hoarse rendition of E-A-G-L-E-S.

Those chants, of course, were everywhere.

-Quarterback Jalen Hurts who said 24 hours earlier that the work takes 364 days for this one moment, even cracked an occasional smile while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on the back of one flatbed, owner Jeffrey Lurie beside him. Evidently, this was the one day of the 365 when Hurts was doing the work to get even better as he approaches his 27th birthday in August.

-Nolan Smith hoisted a young fan onto his shoulders along the parade route.

-Josh Sweat wore the long fur coat worn by Chris Long in the first parade in 2018.

When they finally arrived at the Art Museum stairs, they were introduced as a team and descended the museum steps. It was a cool moment that preceded the speeches.

Jordan Mailata led the throng in a sing-along of Queen’s iconic hit, “We Are The Champions.”

MVP Hurts, wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the words, “Love, Hurts,” with the Michael Jordan trademark logo on it, said he had never visited the steps of the Art Museum until they won a championship. “Here we are,” he said.

"They said I was diva, they said all I care about was stats. You can get all those things wrong about me, but get one thing right—I'm a f---ing champion!"

— AJ Brown

pic.twitter.com/Ldrm5b3xis
— Philadelphia Eagles Central (@pheaglescentral) February 14, 2025

A.J. Brown stood behind the microphone and screamed, “Adriaaaaaanne.” In a moment reminiscent of Phillies superstar Chase Utley at the 2008 World Series parade, he added, “They said I was a diva. They said I only cared about stats. They can get those things wrong about me. But you’ll get this right – I’m a world champion.” There were some bleeped out words mixed in there.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the safety everyone expected would challenge the bleep police, was well-behaved. “Respectfully, just three letters,” he said. Then led the crowd in chants of “BTA,” which means belt to ass.

Howie Roseman was sporting a shiner after getting hit in the head with a can of beer. It likely wasn’t a toss made in anger at the general manager, but probably just by a fan trying to be helpful. There was a report of gun shots along the route, but isn’t that, sadly, kind of standard stuff these days?

Brandon Graham was the final speaker. He still isn’t sure he will return for a 16th season, but said, “the only problem I have is that it’s over. This season is over and we’re getting ready for the next one.”

All in all, though, it was a memorable vibe, just as it was during the last championship parade just seven years ago. And the way the Eagles are built, this may not be the last parade we will see over the next couple of years.

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