Fans revel in finally being Super Bowl champions
PHILADELPHIA » From the halls of the 69th Street Transportation Center to JFK Boulevard, Philadelphia Eagles’ fans strutted their pride and spirit for the entire world to see, whether in endless chants of E-A-G-L-E-S or by climbing on roofs, savoring every moment of a long-awaited Super Bowl victory celebration.
“We’ve been waiting for them to win forever!” Elaine Charlton of Drexel Hill exclaimed as she and friend Jennifer Reilly of Springfield were on their way to the Eagles Parade early Thursday morning.
“Today is the happiest day of our lives,” Reilly said, putting the moment in perspective.
Yet, given her past lessthan-Super experience, she had very good reason.
“I was at the Super Bowl (in) Jacksonville,” she said where the New England Patriots took the championship honors away from the Birds by a mere 3 points. “I was like crushed.”
Not Sunday – and certainly not on Thursday.
Even with a long-standing link to Philadelphia’s football franchise, all the two wanted from the celebration, Charlton said, was “happiness and fun.”
Ben Worley of Haverford woke up at 4:30 a.m. to make sure he got to the celebration just in time.
“It’s unreal,” he said of this year’s season. “I’ve grown up an Eagles fan, I’m from the area. It’s (been) breathtaking to watch ... this year.”
With him was Tyler Kostack of Broomall, who spoke about the heartbreak of watching the Birds come so, so close in 2005, only to lose it and then, just when this season looked so promising, to have quarterback Carson Wentz go down.
From that precarious spot, dumbfounded fans not only saw Nick Foles ride to the rescue, but witnessed the Birds embrace their underdog status and turn it into a dream come true.
Fans never gave up on the team they love, according to the Marple man.
“It shows that the city really is the City of Brotherly Love,” Kostack said.
Among the countless chants of E-A-G-L-E-S was one particularly passionate one by 10-year-old Nicholas Evans, who was being taken to the event by his mom, Akilah Evans of Media.
“I’ve loved the Eagles since I was a little girl,” she said. “I love (former Eagles quarterback) Randall Cunningham. My birthday is on the 12th, his (nickname is) the 12th – and ever since then, I’ve been, like, in love with the Eagles.”
Even with her starry eyes, Evans was taking her son to honor her father, James, who passed his love for the Eagles’ along to her.
“My dad, he’s not here no more, he was an Eagles fan, so we’re going to have the experience with my kids,” she said.
And those ready.
“I’ve loved the Eagles ever since I was 5,” Nicholas said, holding an Eagles Super Bowl Champion pennant. “I used to play soccer but ever since I came to Pennsylvania, my cousin Miles inspired me to play football.”
For Miles, a player for the Rose Tree Colts, the mo
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