This past weekend, I visited my best friend who goes to Villanova University, and my visit coincided with the Eagles Super Bowl victory parade. I am personally a Bengal fan (I love Joe Borrow, and I’m from Cincinnati), and after seeing how the win was celebrated in Pittsburgh over 300 miles away, the parade was sure to be a riot.
I had a morning flight out to Philly on Friday, landing at 8:30, but it was far from early enough. While waiting at my gate, my for you page was filled with people getting up as early as 4 in the morning to stand in the front row of the route. Once I got to campus, I quickly changed into borrowed Eagles gear and got in an Uber with my best friend and her roommates (the Septa had been shut down for hours in preparation). Slowly pushing through gridlock traffic, we made our way to Center City. The second we stepped out of the car, we could feel the city’s energy. Everyone was decked out in kelly green and Hurtz jerseys. We were able to find a spot near city hall; however, the crowd was so thick that it was almost impossible to see the actual parade.
After an hour of “E-A-G-L-E-S” and “go birds” chants, everyone in the crowd started screaming, and although I could barely see it, I knew that the buses had made their way down Broad Street. The buses shot confetti in the air (which made for gorgeous pictures on a sunny day), and through other people’s zoomed-in videos, we could see the procession. Could I make out anyone’s face? Not really, but that didn’t stop us from cheering like we knew them personally. Once the parade passed us by, people stayed perched on top of salt trucks, septa stations, porta-potties, and even a few lampposts. When things slowly started to die down, we slowly made our way out of the crowd and to Chinatown for lunch. We went to Dim Sum Garden (which I highly recommend if you are in the area) and ate a late lunch surrounded by parade-goers with the same idea.
It’s safe to say that I’ve never experienced an Eagles celebration like that or any celebration along those lines. The people of Philadelphia love their city and are very passionate (for lack of better words) fans. Everyone downtown had a shared camaraderie and appreciation for their team, and wanted to share that love with the world (even if they did so in misguided ways). Even though I was only an acting Eagles fan, the city’s electric energy got me hooked, and for the day I felt like an “outside of Philly” native.