PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Just as coach Nick Sirianni promised, the Eagles stayed in the locker room for a pregame Super Bowl championship celebration.
No worries.
More than 60,000 fans, team owner Jeffrey Lurie, retired franchise great Brandon Graham and even TV star and Eagles fan Rob Mac stuck around for the fireworks— and the unveiling of the 2024 World Champions banner.
The Eagles unveiled the banner during the ceremony staged ahead of Thursday’s NFL opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Sirianni seemingly
feigned ignorance this week when he said he had no idea the opener would also serve as the green-hued stage for the banner drop.
Either way, he insisted the Eagles would stay inside their locker room at Lincoln Financial Field. He didn't want a distraction — nor a reminder of last year's achievement, which he said had no bearing on this year's goal of winning another championship.
Lurie and Graham, the beloved defensive end who retired at the end of last season, walked out each holding a Lombardi Trophy. The Eagles won their only other Super Bowl in the 2017 season thanks in large part to Graham's strip-sack of New England's Tom Brady.
The Eagles romped past Kansas City 40-22 seven months ago in New Orleans to win their second Super Bowl and the party hasn't slowed in Philly. The whirlwind offseason included a parade, a White House visit, and a gaudy Super Bowl ring celebration. The ring included wings on each side that release from the bezel and feature 145 diamonds, celebrating the Eagles’ 145 points scored in the playoffs.
Graham led the fans on Thursday night in the traditional “E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!” chant and a rendition of the “Fly, Eagles, Fly” fight song.
Mac, the long-time star of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” took the microphone during what the team called “The Championship Moment” and hyped the crowd when he bellowed, “please welcome the two-time football champions. the E-A-G-L-E-S!”
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