Eagles defied the odds...and Trump

For some, Super Bowl LII was about two great football teams meeting on the game’s biggest stage. But for others, it was more than that. This was Trump’s team versus the rest of America.

The Patriots owner, head coach and quarterback are all Trump supporters. So, a win for New England would have felt like another win for Trump. And as unfair as that may sound, that’s how it’s felt ever since Trump decided to stick his hands into football, intertwining sports and politics forever, and calling those who protested police brutality by kneeling for the anthem “sons of bitches.”

This movie already had a built-in villain, which is why the Eagles were the perfect protagonist.

People love to cheer for the underdog in sports, and it’s a status the Eagles whole-heartedly embraced, but their odds of winning weren’t the only reasons the majority of the country jumped on Philly’s bandwagon.

In a season that may be remembered more for what happened off the field than on it, the Eagles were the one team that was the epitome of a socially conscious franchise.

Malcolm Jenkins, who for the better part of the last two seasons has raised a right fist during the pregame anthem, was one of the founders of the Players Coalition and was named a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for his charity work.

Chris Long played for free all season because he decided to donate his salary to fund educational opportunities, and was one of the few white players to show support for the players protesting during the anthem by putting an arm around Jenkins.

Torrey Smith, Long and Jenkins also traveled to Harrisburg, Pa., this season to meet with state lawmakers on criminal justice reforms, and previously attended bail hearings to better understand the system.

Unlike the Patriots locker room, there weren’t any Make America Great Again hats seen around the Eagles facilities.

Long, Smith and a host of other Eagles were already on record before the outcome of Sunday’s game saying that they wouldn’t make the White House trip if the Eagles won.

Which is why if Trump were smart, he would save himself the embarrassment and not even extend an invitation.

I mean, even Eagles owner Jeff Lurie has a doctorate in social policy.

But the person who best exemplifies why this team wasn’t who Trump was pulling for isn’t even a football player; he’s a rapper.

When the Eagles decided to use Philadelphia’s own Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” as their theme song for the Super Bowl, it was a statement.

“I used to pray for times like this, to rhyme like this/So I had to grind like that to shine like this,” reads one verse.

The song is a soundtrack for anyone who’s ever been an underdog. And it’s an anthem for every person who has ever been doubted.

But more than that, “Dreams and Nightmares” is the signature song of an artist that has become the face of the flawed judicial system that some of the Eagles have protested against and met with lawmakers about.

Mill was arrested for trying to stop a fight and for doing wheelies on his motorcycle, which is why he’s in jail right now. And since those minor violations broke his probation from a case that happened a decade ago, he could be facing two to four years in prison.

“(Meek’s) frustrated, really frustrated and knows he’s being treated different than anyone else,” said Mill’s attorney Joe Tacopina to CNN last year. “If his name was John Smith, he wouldn’t be in jail and he certainly wouldn’t be on probation.

“He’s been on probation for nearly 10 years. Nobody goes on probation for 10 years.”

The Eagles didn’t pick “Dreams and Nightmares” just because the song is good; they did it to send a message.

Late Sunday night, President Trump took to Twitter to congratulate the Eagles, writing, “Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on a great Super Bowl victory!”

I wonder if that gesture will be the only one that will transpire between the White House and the Eagles.

But if the Eagles are indeed invited to Washington, maybe they should go, with one caveat: They bring their underdog masks. hat way, the President will have to take a photo with a team wearing dog masks, after a season in which he referred to players as “sons of bitches.” They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Well, that one would be priceless.

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