Thousands cheer Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl victory parade
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The Philadelphia Eagles celebrate on buses during the Super Bowl LIX championship parade.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PHILADELPHIA – Hundreds of thousands of Philadelphia Eagles fans lined the streets on Feb 14 to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs with a parade that ended at the iconic Rocky statue.
The National Football League team’s trip down Broad Street began at their home stadium and continued to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the statue of famed movie boxer Rocky Balboa stands atop the stairs leading to the museum.
“This is a special team and we can’t be great without the greatness of others and that certainly applies to our fans,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.
A sea of green-clad supporters, some who arrived on the night of Feb 13 to get positions along the street, turned out in the “City of Brotherly Love” to cheer their heroes.
“You can’t use words to describe this,” Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley said while riding atop an open-top bus in the parade.
“Every time I think Philly can’t take it to another level, it takes it to a whole another level. This city deserves it all and here we are. I might be having too much fun. The way they showed up, you can’t make it up.”
It was only the third championship victory parade for a Philadelphia sports team in the past 40 years, following the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies win in baseball’s World Series and the Eagles victory over the New England Patriots in the 2018 Super Bowl.
The city’s iconic Love sculpture, with the letters of the word in a square form, received an addition with the word “Hurts” placed after it in tribute to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Most Valuable Player in the 40-22 Super Bowl triumph over the Chiefs on Feb 9.
“Philly, on behalf of my teammates and myself, we want to thank you for all your support this year. All the passion, every ounce of it,” Hurts told the fans.
The star also finally saw the Rocky statue in person.
“I told myself I wouldn’t come to the Rocky steps until we won the championship and now we’re here,” he said.
“This team has had to battle through so much. This team has had to fight, has had to persevere. There has been a ton of scrutiny, a ton of opinions, but one thing about this city, we fight.
“You learn that success isn’t built off approval. It’s built off endurance. It’s built off strength. You can’t lose if you don’t quit and, in Philly, we don’t quit. The next pursuit begins. Go Birds.”
A throng of fans sang the team’s fight song Fly Eagles Fly from around the museum stairs ahead of the players’ appearance atop the stairs to roars of delight, before the team led the crowd in singing We Are The Champions.
“There are no words to describe this, Philly. This team and its fans share a bond second to none,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said.
Eagles receiver A.J. Brown took aim at critics, saying: “They said I was a diva. They said all I cared about was stats. You get all those things wrong about me, but there’s one thing you can get right. I’m a champion.” AFP
