EAGLES-Ville

Over the past two weeks, since the Philadelphia Eagles captured the NFC Championship and the chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII (which we all now know that, against incredible odds, they actually WON), LP residents, along with the entire greater Philadelphia area and surrounding suburbs, understandably went all in for the boys in green.

[I’m proud to say that I was the only person at the Super Bowl party I attended who brought a bottle of champagne. While I'm certainly one of millions of long-suffering Philly sports fans who has come to expect being disappointed again and again by our teams, somehow I had a feeling that, for once, it was going to be our year!]

Everyone got involved somehow or another. Eagles merchandise flew off the shelves and pop-up gas-station vendors sprouted everywhere. Women got their nails done in green and silver. All manner of Eagles garden flags and wreaths went up.  Eagles decals and car magnets got slapped on vehicles. Local businesses got in on the act and made an undoubted killing selling Super Bowl party food, including local business Collegeville Italian Bakery, who entered into a friendly bet with a Boston-area business, Montilio’s Baking Company.

Photo courtesy of C.I.B.

“It [the Eagles being in the Super Bowl] did wonders for every single mom and pop business,” said co-owner Steve Carcarey of the Collegeville Italian Bakery. Montilio’s wagered one of their famous butter-cream specialty sheet cakes – with a big Eagles logo - against Collegeville’s famous Eagles tomato pies which would have featured a Patriot’s logo had the Eagles lost. Another part of the bet was Montilio’s making a $500 donation to the Philadelphia School District in the event of an Eagles win.  Carcarey even changed the sign temporarily on his business to read ‘Eagleville Italian Bakery”. [this story appeared in the Times Herald the day after I made this blog post]

LP Township issued a proclamation on January 31, 2018 declaring it “Eagles Day” encouraging the celebration of the team’s success and support for them as they took the field in the Super Bowl. Eagleville Elementary held one of many pep rallies in the area; theirs was featured on the ABC6 news broadcast that day [link].  ABC6 also did a spot featuring the Valley Forge Chorale, who rehearses at Lower Providence Presbyterian Church (LPPC) in Eagleville singing the Eagles fight song.

Even my church’s pastor at LPPC presented a sermon entitled “We Will Soar on Wings Like Eagles”. It was rooted in scripture (Isaiah 40:21-31) but also meant to support the team as pastor wore a vestment featuring the Eagles logo in a pattern, and he led the congregation in an Eagles chant at the end of the service.

It was wonderful to see something that united everyone in the community and was a distraction from everyday problems. That’s a ‘win’ right there.

As for the parade, I wasn’t going to miss it. It was a long day – our group of 10 left Eagleville at 4:30 AM, bundled up in layers, determined that we were going to savor this victory. It truly was something not to be missed. We had a good entry, parking and exit strategy and it worked out pretty well. We enjoyed beer and a very happy clientele while hanging out at the Urban Saloon on Fairmount waiting for the parade to make its way to the Art Museum, and made lots of new friends in green. People were, for the most part, well behaved and it was a glorious event where we heard the Eagles fight song more times than we could count.  (And yes, it is true, Eagles fans WILL CLIMB JUST ABOUT ANYTHING!). 

Still, it’s hard to believe it really happened. My boyfriend (and others I know) have re-watched the game several times. We Philly sports fans are so used to inevitable disappointment, of defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, that many of us can’t quite believe the other shoe isn’t going to drop.

Now, if we could just get those Philadelphia Flyers to bring the Stanley Cup home for a trip down Broad Street….