Super Bowl LII will always have a special place in my heart - you never forget your first. But this year was different in a number of ways that make it all the more sweet.
For starters, during the 2017 season, the Super Bowl was literally the one and only game I saw the Birds play. I sat out the season as an NFL supporter, based largely on the league's reaction to Colin Kaepernick's protests, before deciding to tune back in on the simple but prudent fact that the Eagles were in the Super Bowl. This year I was all all in, from starting 2-2 before the bye and calls for Coach Sirianni's head, to winning 12 of the last 13 en route to an NFC East championship, a #2 seed in the NFC that became home field throughout after the Commanders knocked off the Lions, and ultimately an NFC championship and Super Bowl berth against the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Birds two years prior and were eying a third straight Super Bowl victory.
This Super Bowl was the Eagles' lick back, avenging a Super Bowl LVII loss that's been Jalen Hurts' lock screen ever since. Sure, in 2018 we avenged a Super Bowl loss from 13 years prior, but this time we'd be going back with and against much of the same personnel - most notably returning head coaches and starting quarterbacks on each side.
The Eagles also had something they don't typically: A critical mass - maybe even a plurality - of the casual public on their side. Certainly there's no love lost between most fanbases and Philly, but the Chiefs were vying for a three-peat, and with the perception that they were the referees' darling, many didn't want to see them get there. At the game, they may have also faced fanbase fatigue, with reports that the crowd was pro-Philly, possibly to the tune of 80%.
Two weeks prior, as the Eagles faced division rival Commanders for the NFC Championship, I said I didn't want a good game. I had no interest in stressing for three and a half hours, with the outcome in doubt, fearing that a historic Eagles rival - the NFC Championship Game - would best us once again. I got my wish on that day, as the Birds handled FC Landover to the tune of 55-23. I had no such expectations for Super Bowl Sunday against the defending champions, but I was pleased to watch not a game but a coronation. The Good Guys led 24-0 at the half, and would extend the shutout to 34-0 before the Chiefs put six on the board in the 3rd. And while a lifetime of Philadelphia sports fandom kept me from declaring the game over too soon, I spent nearly the entire game feeling pretty good. And even as I felt the Gatorade dump of Coach Nick Sirianni came too soon, I was glad to celebrate as the clock hit 0.00 and the Eagles were the Super Bowl Champions with a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Apart from my own elation, I had additional joy in getting to share the Super Bowl with my younger child. Let the record show: I had no intent to raise Eagles fans. As hard as I ride for the Birds, I believe in rooting for the home team, and figured logically, if my kids found themselves an NFL allegiance, it would be the Panthers for these Greensboro natives. But my son followed me down a midnight green path, and as such, is experiencing it in a much different fashion than I did. After all, I experienced my first Eagles championship at the age of 36 after decades of fanhood and good-but-not-great seasons; he pretty much hopped on board this year and saw a Super Bowl victory immediately. I'm not saying that out of jealousy; simply that our experiences will be quite different, especially since - and I'm hesitant to jinx, but don't think I have the cosmic power for that - it's not unrealistic that this team could run it back over the next few years and he could come to know nothing but relative elation from a team that's given me plenty of consternation. It's a price I'd gladly pay, especially since I too would reap the benefits.
I had the parade on in the background at work, and have basked for the past two weeks. I've got victory items for both my son and me in my NFL Shop cart. it's a different animal from 2018, but it's no less glorious.
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