This team, this city… it doesn’t get any better.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the city of Philadelphia had themselves a day yesterday. While festivities officially started at 11 AM, for many Philadelphians, their day started much, much earlier. JJ, my son, and I woke up around 6 to get ready for our day, having a delightful breakfast and then securing our spot at Broad & Spruce around 8:30. I got a message from Tyles that he was on the Parkway around 6. We heard reports of people setting up camp around the Art Museum Thursday night.
Eagles Parade Day: The Bad and The Ugly
Let’s start with the few negatives of heading to an Eagles Parade celebrating the franchise’s second Super Bowl Championship. It was obviously very busy: according to WHYY, 1.4 million people showed up to the 2017/18 Eagles Parade (which was held on Thursday, February 8th, 2018) and 1 million people were expected for this year’s parade (held on Friday, February 14th, 2025–also a holiday weekend with President’s Day on Monday). I can’t find the source, but I saw reports online that the actual numbers for this year were closer to 1.7 million. I can’t speak for everywhere in the city and across the parade route, but our section was OK until about 10 am which leads to the only issue I ran into.
Around 9:30, my son and I decided to use the restroom. Unfortunately, we didn’t know where the portapotties were on our side of Broad Street; but we did see 6 of them directly across the street. At that time, there was no issue crossing the street. By the time we got through the line and finished up, people were being less than gracious about getting through to cross the street. I could have been more aggressive to just do it, but it’s not in my nature, so we walked down to the next block. Unfortunately, we couldn’t even get to that corner. We doubled back to even more hostility and some friendliness saying that you could definitely do it at the next corner. This is where it gets bad.
We get about halfway to the next corner when traffic just stops. Dead stops. To the credit of the 10-15 people around us, who were all in the same boat, they were trying to stop the people somewhere behind us screaming “TUSH PUSH” and trying to push the crowd forward. Between being squished and stiffing my body to stop the people behind me from actually pushing me forward, my body is very sore today. I don’t care about that, just some information to set the stage. My son looked at me and said very seriously that he was worried.
No More Games
At that point, I looked at the people who were in their spot for the parade and said my kid is starting to have a panic attack, we need to get through to get onto the street. One person was less than stellar about the situation, but everyone else was incredibly helpful in ensuring we could get to the front and through the barricades. As soon as we were out, I found the closest officer to let her know what was going on and what we needed without stepping on metaphorical toes. And here is my biggest shout-out of the day: The police presence for the Eagles Parade was spot on. Beyond how each and everyone ensured that my son and I got back to where we needed to bed, I just saw it in action. As we often say, we’re not a political podcast/blog, but in a world where the police get a bad rap (sometimes deservedly so), they handled 1.7 million people without issue (that I can see) and had fun with the crowd. Hell, it was also their Philadelphia Eagles who just won a Super Bowl, so of course they’re excited.
To wrap up this incredibly long story: we made it back to JJ. Our spot was a little more crowded (and ultimately a lot more crowded by 11), but our side of the street was paradise compared to what we just went through.
A final note about the negatives of the parade: there was a very brief moment where I started to wonder if this was worth it or if it would have been better to experience this from home. As the parade kicked off, that all went out the window.
Eagles Parade Day: The Good
First and foremost, the love that this city has shown since winning the Super Bowl was on full display. There were a few bad apples, but in comparison to 1.7 million people, it was all gravy. It’s something I hope doesn’t go away anytime soon, because despite all of our differences, this Eagles team has brought us together like few things can.
But as soon as the parade reached us, everything clicked into place. This is why we’re here. To celebrate with the players, the coaches, the office staff, the medical staff, and the administration of our team. As much as we love this team, this team and organization love their fans. To see these people let loose and be a bit more unguarded was such a pleasure. Man, I’m not sure what it was like in 2018 and I don’t know that 2025 makes up for missing the first-ever Eagles Super Bowl Parade, but I’m sure glad I was there.
The rest of the day was so great because the timing was forever on our side. We leave the parade route and grab lunch, with no wait, at Mission Taco. A few minutes later, people are being told it’s an hour’s wait. We get our cars without issue and get to our meeting point to exchange bags/coolers in about an hour (which would have been several hours if we left 30 minutes later). And that’s what I learned about the Eagles parade. It wasn’t so much about going out and standing on the street yelling and screaming with other fans, celebrating this big win. It’s a part of it, sure, but it’s about the experience you make of it.
A part of me is sad that I didn’t get to share in this with my Uncle, and that’s a story that is shared among all of us who have lost people before the Eagles ever won a Super Bowl. But the other part of me is happy that I got to experience this. Not just as a member of this community, but with my son. As we were walking somewhere, or maybe driving home, I said to him to not take this for granted; you may be spoiled with championships, but they’ve won the same amount in both our lifetimes. This may not happen again for some time; though this team is special and I think they’ll prove me wrong.
Go Birds.
Did you go to the Eagles Parade? How was your time there? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, or TikTok. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll share the story on the show. Join our Discord for further discussion with the GENY community!