Vogel pulls for Super Eagles
Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel faces a dilemma with Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and his beloved Philadelphia Eagles approaching this evening.
His two daughters, Alexa and Arianna, didn’t grow up in Philadelphia, so Vogel has no guarantees they will become Eagles fans, let alone cheer for the Eagles on Super Sunday.
So Vogel did something proactive Friday night. He and his wife, Jenifer, held a family movie screening of “Invincible,” the true story of how longshot Vince Papale made the Eagles roster in 1976 at 30 years old.
Vogel joked he showed the movie to persuade his daughters to become Eagles fans.
“The girls really loved it, as did I,” Vogel said.
Everyone on Vogel’s side of the family — his mom, dad and older brother — are diehard Eagles fans. When they returned home from church on autumn and early winter Sundays, they’d turn on the TV in their Wildwood Crest, N.J., home to watch the Eagles play.
These days, Vogel is surrounded by people who are rooting for Philadelphia.
Vogel’s Magic team has more Eagles fans than Patriots fans.
Those Eagles fans include athletic trainer Keon Weise, who grew up in Philadelphia, and center Nikola Vucevic.
Vucevic grew up in Belgium and in Montenegro, so he faces widespread skepticism that he roots for the Eagles.
His fandom started through a popular video game.
“I’ve been an Eagles fan since I was little,” Vucevic said. “Somebody bought me ‘Madden,’ and you have to pick your favorite team when you start the game. I just picked the Eagles. I liked the eagle in general and I liked the logo.”
Vucevic’s interest in American football gained additional traction when he attended USC and played for the Philadelphia 76ers as a rookie.
“Football, obviously, is a big part of American culture,” Vucevic said. “I learned the game of football and actually really enjoy watching it. It’s a great game now that I’ve learned the rules and everything. Obviously, I respect Tom Brady a lot. But he’s one player, and the Eagles are my team. So I’m going with the Eagles.”
Jonathon Simmons is the only Magic player who is a diehard Patriots fan.
Simmons grew up in Houston, and he started rooting for the Patriots in 2004, when the team played in Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.
His mom, LaTonya Simmons, took him to Super Bowl festivities around town, and Jonathon has been a Patriots fan ever since.
“I was never really big on football because my mom never wanted me to play,” Simmons said. “It was just the Super Bowl was [in Houston], so we did some of the Super Bowl events, and Tom Brady was on the cover the next year of ‘Madden.’ So it was a win-win.”
D.J. Augustin and Elfrid Payton, who grew up in New Orleans, hoped their beloved New Orleans Saints would reach this year’s Super Bowl. But the Saints were eliminated in the divisional round when the Minnesota Vikings completed a 61-yard touchdown pass on the game’s final play.
Still bitter over the Saints’ defeat, Payton is hoping the NFC champion Eagles will win today. After all, they eliminated the Vikings.
“I want the Eagles to win,” Payton said. “But I see the Patriots, as they always do, winning by three points — somehow, some way winning by three points. It’s crazy that that’s all they win by. Every time.”
Vogel wouldn’t predict the final score.
His only prediction: The Eagles will win.