Hundreds of thousands of overjoyed Philadelphia Eagles fans lined the city's famed Broad Street to share the love in honor of the Super Bowl-champion Birds on Friday.
The Eagles captured their second NFL title in eight seasons on Sunday, dominating the two-time-defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, at the Superdome in New Orleans.
A rambunctious Philadelphia celebration wouldn't be complete without some collateral damage, as a flying beer can struck Eagles general manager Howie Roseman in the head, leaving a visible mark, NBC Philadelphia reported.
But on a day of celebration a Super Bowl victory, even a light head wound — to the architect of this championship club — made for laughs.
"I laughed at him a little bit when it happened,” linebacker Josh Sweat said. “And I know he’s mad at me ... when I saw it, I knew what happened, and I couldn’t contain my laugh.”
Fans chanted "MVP,MVP, MVP" when Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts approached the podium and passed out praise to everyone else, his offensive line, the running game, special teams, coaching staff and defense.
"We can't do without the fans," Hurts told fans at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "We can’t do without the fans. We all appreciate you. We love you."
Hurts said he hadn't been to the museum, where there's a statue of fictional fighter Rocky Balboa, before Friday.
"I told myself, I told myself that when I got drafted that I wouldn't come to the Rocky Steps until I won the championship and now here we are," he said.
And borrowing from Rocky mythology, wide receiver A.J. Brown took the podium and gave fans his best "Adrian, Adrian, Adrian!" impression, mimicking the dramatic scene between Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire from the 1976 classic.
Hours before the parade, fans — at some points dozens of people deep along the path — grabbed the best vantage point possible.
They might have huddled close for warmth, as morning temperatures in Philly were in the low 30s, with windchill making it feel like the low 20s.
And all though the route, fans chanted in unison: "E, A, G, L, E, S, Eagles!"
Fans along he parade route could be seen hanging out of windows, on top of light poles and trees and standing on top of dump trucks placed there to close off traffic.
Double-decker, open-air buses got rolling ahead of schedule late Friday morning, near Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in the shadows of the Eagles' home at Lincoln Financial Field.
Hurts was at the front of that lead bus, smoking a cigar and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next to Eagles CEO and Chairman Jeffrey Lurie.
"Today, Valentine's Day, is the perfect day to celebrate this, this love affair between this sports team and Eagles fans here and everywhere," Lurie told fans. "We share an amazing bond that is second to none."
Asked what made this squad a championship team, the NFL's leading rusher, Saquon Barkley, summed it up in one word: "Love."
"I think that s the biggest thing," he told NBC Philadelphia on the parade route. "You had all these names, these superstar names and nobody cared ... and pushed (ego) to the side and won a championship."
Friday's parade was the worst nightmare for fans of 31 other teams, who have a particular disdain for the Birds.
The Eagles linebacker, Sweat, said he had no care for the haters on Friday.
"Nobody likes us," said a jubilant Sweat, wearing a full-length faux fur coat he borrowed from retired Eagle Chris Long, who donned that garment at the parade seven years ago. "Nobody likes Philly, I'm telling you, but we do and they and they do."
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro seized the chance Friday to spike the football on the Eagles' hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys — allegedly "America's Team."
"Being an Eagles fan, I know how people love to hate us. You people love to hate us," Shapiro told fans at the post-parade rally.
"They love to root against us, but something I noticed is that all of a sudden, people were coming together to cheer on our Philadelphia Eagles, not just here in Philly, but all across America. "
Shapiro then turned to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and said: "It would seem, Jeffrey, that the Philadelphia Eagles are now America's team! You hear that Dallas, the Eagles are America's team. Philadelphia?! "
The parade convoy move slowly on on Friday morning, allowing Barkley, coach Nick Sirianni and other Eagles to jump off their buses at points to exchange high-fives with Birds backers.
Defensive end Brandon Graham, the longest tenured Eagle with 15 seasons in Philadelphia, said he wanted to record and soak in as much of Friday's festivities as possible.
"Like I'm saying, enjoy this," Graham, 36, told NBC Philadelphia. "I know that these opportunities, these moments, come and go, just make sure I document every day so I have something to show my kids, even though they're here now."
The moving party is set to roll north on Broad Street, taking 15th Street, John F. Kennedy Boulevard, 16th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway before ending at the Philadelphia Museum of Art apron.
The win on Sunday avenged a title game loss to Kansas City two years ago.
Philadelphia now has two Super Bowl trophies, following its 2018 victory over Tom Brady's New England Patriots.
That game was best known for the "Philly Special," a trick play on fourth-and-goal that ended with quarterback Nick Foles catching a most unlikely touchdown pass.
The Eagles won three pre-Super Bowl pro football titles, in 1960, 1949 and 1948.
