Celek’s long Super Bowl wait well worth it
PHILADELPHIA » The Eagles were approaching the playoffs, and Doug Pederson had an idea. He would ask any player with Super Bowl experience to address the team.
Then he had another idea: Brent Celek would speak, too. And he’d never been to a Super Bowl at all.
“I just told the guys, ‘Listen, these opportunities don’t come very often,’” Celek was saying Sunday night, amid a party atmosphere in the Eagles’ locker room. “Hopefully it resonated with some of them. You’d have to ask the other guys.
“I just appreciate team, man.”
Celek is 32, and he is in his 11th season in pro football, all with the Eagles. He has played for three this coaches, for too many coordinators and in multiple offenses. But not until Sunday, when the Eagles thumped the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7, had he been able to drag a Super Bowl baseball cap over his sweaty head.
On a team thick with stories and plots, one which has ridden a backup quarterback to the final playoff round, Celek’s remained a prominent theme. When … when … would finally be his turn? “I always keep a positive mindset,” Celek said. “And, shoot, it’s worked out. It’s worked out. It’s all worth it. I love this city. This city deserves it, man. We’re going to have so much fun. We’ve just got to finish this thing.”
For many years a starting tight end, Celek eventually dipped beneath Zach Ertz on the depth chart. This season, he joined Trey Burton in providing Doug Pederson with three-ply tightend it depth. Sunday, he was targeted only once, and did not make a catch. But no one in the locker room was more satisfied with the result.
“Things have just been going right, and guys have been playing their tails off,” he said. “And when adversity strikes, we don’t blink. That’s the biggest thing about this team. I say it all the time: The biggest thing about being successful in the NFL is how you face adversity. And our team has faced adversity and come through and exceled, man.”
In the game, as in his career, Celek persevered, routinely showing up each year for training camp in peak shape, never doubting that someday, some time, he would be rewarded with a chance to play in a Super Bowl.
As the clock hit 0:00 and the fireworks exploded above the Linc Sunday night, he tried not to allow his mind to wander too back from the moment.
“I’m just so excited that we’re going to the Super Bowl that I don’t think about the past at all,” he said. “I’m just thinking about this team we have this year. And we have a special group, man. Honestly, we’re not done. We’re not done. We have to finish this thing. This is a great moment and we’re going to enjoy today. But when this is all over, we’re going to get back to work. Because we have a lot of work to do.”
Celek has put in 11 years of work to finally win a Super Bowl spot. He knows what he has to do next against the defending champion New England Patriots.
“In order to be the best you have to beat the best,” he said. “And the Patriots have shown that over many years. They are a great football team. I’m excited, man. We have a great team here. far