Aussie Jordan Mailata celebrates as Philadelphia Eagles enjoy Super Bowl parade

Philadelphia has turned green on Valentine’s Day to celebrate its Super Bowl champions.

Swooning fans screamed and cheered on Friday as MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie took turns hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the start of the team’s victory parade through the City of Brotherly Love.

Many fans camped out along the team’s parade route overnight, huddling under blankets and inside tents to secure prime spots near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the Eagles took the stage on the “Rocky” steps.

Others decked out in Eagles jerseys climbed trees, perched themselves atop ladders and clung to a statue of Benjamin Franklin near City Hall to get a glimpse of record-setting running back Saquon Barkley and Cooper DeJean, the rookie defensive back who ran an interception into the end zone on his 22nd birthday.

Barkley, at one point, hopped off one of the open-air buses to walk along the parade route and exchange high-fives with fans.

Jordan Jaindl, who couldn’t make it to the 2018 parade after the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, wasn’t going to miss this one, bringing his wife and three daughters from Binghamton, New York. This team, he said, was the embodiment of the city.

“Their work ethic,” he said. “How they have to grind for each win. We have to grind here in Philly.”

Fans showed up with grocery carts stocked with food and booze while a few stayed warm in a hotel, sipping champagne. One group roasted a pig with the number “15” carved into the side - a final shot at Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Players posed for pictures with fans along the way while catching beer cans thrown from the jubilant crowd. Tight end Dallas Goedert even made a one-handed snag on a hoagie tossed his way atop one of the parade’s double-decker buses.

Star running back Saquon Barkley made a young girl’s third birthday extra special by lifting her up and holding her as giddy family members recorded the interaction. Barkley also recognised one of the team’s ball boys in the crowd and helped him over the barricade to join the parade.

Roseman wasn’t the only one to fire up the sea of fans from the podium, as Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts, head coach Nick Sirianni, and wide receiver A.J. Brown all sent the crowd into a frenzy when they approached the mic.

“You know, I told myself that when I got drafted, that I wouldn’t come to the Rocky steps until I won a championship,” said Hurts, who accounted for 293 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl win. “And now we’re here.”

Australian star Jordan Mailata also got his fair share of the limelight, leading fans in a rendition of “We are the champions.”

Sirianni, 43, secured his first title in his fourth season as the Eagles’ coach. He did it by avenging a three-point loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII two years earlier.

“This team is special. We can’t be great without the greatness of others and that certainly applies to our fans,” Sirianni said.

Brown, who caught a 12-yard touchdown from Hurts and finished with three receptions for 43 yards against Kansas City, clapped back at the criticism he received throughout the regular season.

“They said I was a diva, they said all I care about was stats,” Brown said. “You gonna get all those things wrong about me, but one thing you get right: I’m a f****** champion!”

“I’m so happy you didn’t have to go through a nail-biter game,” veteran defensive end Brandon Graham said. “It’s about us being gritty. We’re going to stay gritty.”

The Eagles, despite being underdogs, dominated the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, shutting them out in the first half before finishing with a 40-22 victory.

with Reuters