Evening the championship score
Eagles’ Ertz trails World Cup-winning wife Julie
MINNEAPOLIS – Not many people own a Super Bowl ring, and fewer still possess a World Cup winners’ medal. But if the Philadelphia Eagles emerge victorious Sunday, there will be one of each in the same household.
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is trying to match his wife, Julie Ertz (nee Johnston), in the sporting hardware stakes by helping Philly to an upset against the New England Patriots. If that happens, the couple will have some serious bragging rights as perhaps American sports’ most successful married duo.
“I feel like I am lagging behind,” Zach Ertz told USA TODAY. “She (won the World Cup) a couple of years ago, and we just love doing what we do. Obviously, we are in a short season of our life just playing at this level — eventually we will settle down and have to stop playing the sports — but I am so proud of her.”
The pair met during college, when Ertz was a football player at Stanford and Julie was playing soccer at Santa Clara. Ertz journeyed to Canada to watch Julie in the Women’s World Cup in 2015, and they married in 2016.
During the World Cup, Ertz cheered the team on as Julie starred on defense and the Americans cruised to the title.
“It was a lot of fun,” Ertz said. “I had the Johnston name on the jersey. I just wanted to go there and support her. It was a very unique time, so I hope she gets to do the same.”
During the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia, Julie was playing for the USA in a 5-1 victory against Denmark in San Diego. After the match, she asked team officials what had happened and received the happy news that the Eagles had rolled past the Minnesota Vikings.
“I shook the other team’s hands real- ly, really fast and was looking around,” she told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had to hear it from at least three people just to make sure it was true and real, and I had some pretty raw emotion.”
Ertz said Julie’s obsession with stretching and yoga encouraged him to find more flexibility and devote more time to his health. Her health-inspired cooking has also helped him remain in optimum shape, and it seems to be working.
He has not only been highly productive — 824 receiving yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season — but his popularity appears to be growing. Ertz’s jersey was in the top 10 for sales across the NFL last week.
Ertz broke down in the Eagles locker room when he watched video of Julie’s reaction to the team reaching the Super Bowl. Next time he takes the field, she won’t have to look on from afar.
“It was tough not having her here, obviously,” he said. “There was the confetti going on, the other players had got their wives there. Hopefully we will experience the same thing at the Super Bowl. She is definitely coming to the Super Bowl.
“She has definitely helped with my development. She is always there for me off the field through the highs and lows, and that is all you can ask from someone that you love. I hope I do the same for her; we definitely motivate each other, but our marriage wasn’t based off athletic success.”