Scores and fumbles of Super Bowl

Miracles do exist. The Miracle on Ice in 1980. The Miracle at the Meadowlands. Villanova’s “perfect” game against Georgetown to win the national championship.

But there was no miracle in Minneapolis. Despite being labeled the underdogs, and despite lining up against the greatest quarterback in NFL history, the Philadelphia Eagles were, unquestionably, the best overall team in the league.

They didn’t need a miracle because, as they say, God helps those who help themselves. They never slacked off, never doubted, never quit.

Let’s look at the “scores” and “fumbles” of Super Bowl LII.

Fumbles: The greatest disappointment of the Super Bowl was Tom Brady’s behavior. Rather than demonstrating the class of a champion by shaking hands with the winners — and, in particular, Foles — Brady immediately skulked off to the locker room.

There’s no excuse for that. Don’t care that he lost in dramatic fashion. He is the ultimate role model, and he knows better.

Children texting: Yes, maybe this author is a dinosaur. And almost certainly, this situation will never be rectified.

But it is truly regrettable that so many children, witnessing history in the making, chose to be glued to their phones, texting in chatrooms and posting on social media, rather than experiencing the game with their family and friends — human to human. It is hard to understand why so many, especially Millennials, find it necessary to post a running reiteration of what happened 30 seconds ago, since we all just saw it. Those people simply don’t know what it’s like to watch a game the right way — cheering alongside people, not emojis.

Biggest Scores: Finally! The last time the Eagles won a championship was 1960 — before the Super Bowl existed. Eisenhower was president; no Americans had flown in space; and many houses still didn’t have television. That is a long, long time to wait for a city that has always bled green, living and dying with their Iggles.

No words can describe the sheer pride and jubilation from the long-awaited Eagles’ victory, especially since they beat the best franchise in NFL history. Football in Philadelphia is infinitely more than 60 minutes on the gridiron. It is perhaps the one thing that unifies everyone: Liberal, conservative, black, white, gay, straight. None of the traditional “lines of demarcation” that so divide us mattered.

“Race” wasn’t skin color, but the how fast the Eagles were running for the end zone. And “conservative” wasn’t Republican politics, but a nonexistent philosophy for Coach Doug Pederson, whose aggressiveness was the kind of guts normally found only in movies. In our risk-averse society, his gofor-it, no-risk, no-reward attitude struck a note across the country for how things should be done. And it has enshrined Pederson in Philly’s heart forever, a neardeity whose accomplishment will never, can never, be forgotten.

And to think that just nine years ago, Pederson was a high school coach. The American Dream is alive and well.

Nick Foles/Carson Wentz: How bittersweet for Wentz, the franchise quarterback on whose shoulders the Eagles soared, going from obscurity to contender to the team to beat. But his devastating injury left him looking on from the sidelines.

Unquestionably, the Eagles would not have been in position to win the Super Bowl without Wentz, whose play earned them home field advantage in the playoffs. Wentz could have selfishly been a thorn in the Eagles’ side (a la Sam Bradford), but instead stepped up like the champion that he is, doing everything in his power to help Foles and the team win. Pure class.

And what can you say about Foles, who took on the weight of the world when he stepped into Wentz’ impossibly big shoes. This was no ordinary “backup,” given that his jersey and cleats were already in the Hall of Fame for his record seven-touchdown, perfect-passer rating game in 2013 — the same season in which he threw 27 TD’s to only two interceptions.

Foles may not be the starter next year. No matter where his place on the roster, however, he will never again be known as “second-string,” but something a bit more flattering: Super Bowl MVP. He warranted more respect from us, and now he has it — forever.

Anthem: All players stood respectfully. Well done. God bless America. Super Bowl champs! Fly Eagles Fly!