Yes, it’s been six months since the Eagles won the Super Bowl. No, Philly is not done celebrating.
As the Birds prep for a new season, their first as defending holders of the Lombardi Trophy, several new projects are getting fans fired up. There’s the Bud Light “Philly Special” trucks and “Philly Philly” commemorative packs due out Aug. 16. There’s a special “NFL Kickoff” concert at Penn’s Landing featuring Shawn Mendes, which’ll be broadcast live in advance of the Eagles season opener on Sept. 6.
And then there’s the Eagles billboard set for four weeks in Boston — the reveal for which will also be a live TV event.
On the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 8, artist Jordan Spector will join the morning crew at CBS3 to show off the custom artwork he designed in conjunction with Gina Lewis, the superfan who started this whole Patriot-shaming-billboard thing after a bet with a coworker.
Quick recap: Lewis was originally planning to use a photo of Brandon Graham’s pivotal Tom Brady strip-sack. But getting the rights to the pic proved tricky (read: impossible) thanks to the NFL’s strict rules about logo copyright, so she turned to Spector.
Spector, a Temple grad, has become pretty well known for his paintings of sports heroes, like this ? version of Jalen Mills that was auctioned off at the Green Goblin’s charity softball game.
We got a peek at most elements of his Super Bowl billboard design — and it’s better than any photo could be.
Without revealing too much, let’s just say it encapsulates the Eagles 2017-2018 season AND the championship game AND the victory parade all in one single image.
That image will grace airspace in the heart of Tom Brady country for four whole weeks, thanks to the backers of a GoFundMe to pay for it. The crowdfunding campaign will remain open through Sept. 13 — 52 days from the date it hit the first funding goal — to raise money for Carson Wentz’s A01 Foundation.
Extra reason to donate? After the reveal, 52 prints of the painting will be raffled off among all backerse. And one lucky donor will an original Spector painting of Wentz.
If you don’t win in the raffle, don’t worry. Prints of the billboard design will be sold on Spector’s website — proceeds from which will also be donated to A01.
Encouraged by all the support, Lewis plans to make the fundraiser an annual thing, each season aligned with a different player and their chosen cause.
“It’s a way to give back!” Lewis said. “The enjoyment and excitement for football has gotten many of us through some very difficult times. It’s bigger than the game sometimes — and this is our way to thank them!”
