Yes, the rumors are true. The city of brotherly love held its Super Bowl parade on Valentine’s Day, and I witnessed it all.
Last Sunday, after the Philadelphia Eagles demolished the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 — destroying their chances of a 3-peat, sound familiar? The Eagles’ official Instagram account hinted at a Valentine’s Day parade, and the city was ecstatic.
In Philadelphia, Broad Street runs 13 miles straight through the center of the city, all the way from the professional sports stadiums —yes, they are all located in one area — to City Hall and beyond. The parade started at Broad and Pattison — the intersection by the sports complex — and ended at the Philadelphia Art Museum — known for Rocky’s famous run up the steps — where players and other members of the team would give their respective speeches.
The day was chaotic, to say the least, but that is Philadelphia, in short. Although I did not watch general manager Howie Roseman or cornerback Cooper DeJean be hit in the head with flying cans, I watched some iconic moments of my own.
Good morning Philadelphia!
My flight arrived at the Philadelphia airport at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, and it was as busy as the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, but, this time, everyone was drenched in Kelly Green. I could not have been happier.
After falling asleep around 1 a.m., I was woken up promptly by my 7 a.m. alarm clock, and it was time for the day to begin. I opened the blinds — where we had a perfect view of the Liberty Bell — and saw that the windows across the street had aligned sticky notes to say, “Fly Eagles Fly.”
My parents and I began the 1.5-mile walk to my sister’s apartment in the city, and already I was experiencing Philadelphia’s brotherly love.
At early 7:30 a.m., people were already opening drinks, starting Eagles chants at full volume and screaming “Go birds!” to everyone they saw on the street. Smiles beamed on everyone’s face.
The party begins
After arriving at my sister’s apartment, we quickly prepared for the day by eating the Philadelphia classics, Isgro’s cookies and Sarcone’s bread.
As we ate breakfast, “Blow the Whistle” by Too Short and “Dreams and Nightmares” by Meek Mill played all morning. These two songs have become closely associated with the Philadelphia Eagles and have been played in celebration all week long.
All those in attendance finished any work they were supposed to do for the day — personally, I quickly wrapped up my quiz and headed out the door just past 9 a.m.
We walked three blocks to Broad Street and secured a front-row seat for the parade. Now, we just had to wait an hour and a half until the parade began down by the stadiums and eventually made its way to us.
The parade
The parade reached us around noon, but do not be alarmed, as there was no shortage of entertainment while we waited for their arrival.
To our right, we had a bus stop that a group of young adults climbed on top of for a better view. Across the street, two garbage trucks had been taken over by a sea of Eagles fans. People started “E-A-G-L-E-S” chants every two minutes and tossed a football repeatedly for about an hour.
At one point, an ambulance came down Broad Street to provide police officers with hoagies and water. Of course, the water had been dyed green because this city bleeds green.
After the buses made their way towards us, many of the players got off them, allowing them to run through Broad Street and interact with the fans.
Cooper DeJean took a Super Bowl LIX flag and waved it all around, approximately ten steps from us. A.J. Brown and Jordan Maliata ran up and down the street on the other side from us, giving fans high fives. Unfortunately, we did not see Jalen Hurts or Saquon Barkley, as they were walking on the other side of the street, blocked by the buses — my soul still hurts a little, pun intended.
As the parade picked the pace back up, Nick Sirianni, Governor Josh Shapiro and many others quickly passed us, and the energy was electric. At one point, Sydney Brown ran right up to us, screaming at the top of his lungs, and gave us all high fives.
All good things come to an end, and soon enough, the parade had moved past us. Lucky enough, it was time to find a spot at a restaurant to watch the speeches from the Art Museum.
Art Museum speeches
In 2018, my family made the trek to the Art Museum to hear the players’ speeches. As much as I love to mention how I heard Jason Kelce’s famous “No one likes us, and we don’t care” speech live, enough of our shoes had been damaged from last time to know that we were watching the speeches on television this time around.
Also, as much as we love the current team, no one is Jason Kelce. None of the players were galivanting down Broad Street in a Mummers costume, and we could never hold them to that standard. Nevertheless, we were still excited to hear what they had to say.
Most players kept their speeches short and sweet, but that did not stop the energy. People screamed the Eagles’ fight song, repeated the “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant any time a player did and made friends with the people sitting next to them.
The notable highlight of watching the speeches on television was the failed censorship of foul language. I watched about half the team curse on live television. About every 30 seconds, the volume would cut too late and say, “We once again apologize for *insert Eagles player’s name* language,” and the entire restaurant broke out in laughter. Nothing was more Philadelphian.
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
From 2022-2023, I watched the Phillies lose the World Series and the Eagles lose the Super Bowl in three months. I ached for a championship parade, as did the rest of the city. We came into this Super Bowl wanting revenge against the Chiefs, and as Jason Kelce said in his famous 2018 Super Bowl parade speech, “Hungry dogs run faster,” and we sure did — especially during Cooper DeJean’s pick-six.
The Eagles have now stopped the Patriots and Chiefs at the chance of a 3-peat with their two Super Bowl wins, and they have done it both times as the underdogs. Never count Philadelphia out — it only makes us want it more.
I still do not have words for the joy that radiated throughout Philadelphia yesterday, and I will replay the day in my mind for the rest of my life. Go birds.
This story was written by MaryKate Stepchuk. She can be reached at marykate.stepchuk@marquette.edu.
