When the Birds finished their 4.6-mile flight from South Philly (Kelce himself preceded them on the route, then disappeared, beer in hand) they took a break, gathered themselves for lunch in the museum, then faced the one million adulators on the Parkway, hanging from trees and clinging to statues. Sixteen executives and players took a turn at the mic.
Roseman, his wound cleaned but still seeping crimson, delivered the cleverest message: “I bleed for this city!”
The eldest Eagle, 15-year veteran Brandon Graham, went last, but what he said might have been the most important thing said regarding this season and next: “The only problem I had [with 2024] was it’s over, and we’re getting ready for the next one! … We’re gonna stay gritty. We’re gonna stay gritty.”
Does that mean he’s not retiring, as he’d indicated at the start of the season? When asked afterward, Graham remained noncommittal. But he seemed pretty committal during his speech.
At the end of his address, which largely was G-rated, Graham, perhaps unable to resist, recited the nastiest parts of Kelce’s “No one likes us, we don’t care” ditty from seven years ago. Oh well. It was a vibe.
Seven years ago, on another clear and cold February afternoon, Jason Kelce wore a Mummers outfit, and, well-lubricated with anti-inhibition juice, for slightly less than six minutes, he spewed forgivable profanities in the most memorable speech Pennsylvania has heard since Gettysburg.
Nobody recreated the incomparable oration Kelce delivered after the Eagles’ first title, in Super Bowl LII. Wisely, after the Birds won No. 2 on Sunday in New Orleans, nobody tried. The 40-22 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs, who’d won the last two and had beaten the Eagles after the 2022 season, was statement enough.
Most kept it short Friday, which Kelce gloriously did not. Most sprinkled in foul language, but nothing like the nuclear naughtiness Kelce reached. But all were sincere and genuine, and almost all were selfless. It was exactly the sort of ceremony you’d expect from a massively talented group of players who realized they could best amplify their greatness if they amplified the greatness of each other. That was coach Nick Sirianni’s motto this season, and that was how the most gifted team in Eagles history delivered the best season in Eagles history, and it was how they finished the year on the Art Museum steps.
The parade itself was an orgy of appreciation and celebration that produced several memorable snapshots.
The best marketing: Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts wore a signature Nike Jumpman 23 brand sweatshirt that read, “Love, Hurts,” which mimicked the altered L-O-V-E statue in Love Park.
The best accident: GM Howie Roseman strode down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, an outsized cigar in his teeth … and a crescent-shaped, beer can scar on his forehead. A fan threw a brewski to him just a little too hard.
Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham sounded like a man who intends to play another season.
Yong Kim
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