As excitement builds for the NFC Championship game between the Eagles and the 49ers, so does the creeping fear of a jinx.
It’s easy for some to envision this weekend as a foregone conclusion.
Saturday’s straightforward 38-7 win over the New York Giants, along with clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC with an unprecedented 14-3 season, leaves little doubt the Eagles are soaring.
But so is San Francisco, currently on a 12-game win streak led by Brock Purdy, a third-string quarterback considered the “Mr. Irrelevant” of his draft class. After knocking off Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, he could be the first rookie QB to play for the Lombardi trophy.
Still, can you even talk about the Birds and Super Bowl LVII in the same breath without bringing bad luck?
We went to the experts — prominent Eagles fans from the media, politics, and around the city — for advice on how to handle this critical situation.
Good Day Philadelphia co-host Alex Holley believes she has found a workaround for covering the playoff run on Fox 29.
”I will not actually say the words ‘Super Bowl,’” Holley told Billy Penn. “Instead, I say ‘S.B.,’ because I feel like if you put it out there, I’m too scared that it may not happen.”
PhillyVoice deputy sports editor Shamus Clancy has no qualms about predicting the Eagles’ ultimate victory.
He doesn’t go so far as to go beyond “legitimate takes,” however, or get specific about potential scenarios..
“I’m not going to do a ‘Who would you rather play in the Super Bowl: Kansas City or Cincinnati’ story or tweet this week because that’s bad energy to me.” Clancy said.
Pa. House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton also plans to save her boasting about the Birds until victory is unquestionably sealed.
“I just don’t talk trash until it’s almost over. That’s my one rule of thumb,” she said in an interview. “We could be, you know, up by whatever number, but I wait until it’s clear that it’s impossible for them to beat us, for me to say anything on Twitter or Facebook.”
What about her tweet last weekend fake-lamenting the Cowboys’ loss to SF because it didn’t give the Eagles “an opportunity” to beat them instead?
“I’m always going to get a dig on Dallas because you just have to do it,” McClinton said. “I can’t resist it.”
Eagles superfan Monty G. Anderson was less reserved, saying fans should start looking forward to a parade down Broad Street. In his classic boisterous and chaotic style, he explained his reasons for making the prediction.
“Our Eagles has this: A Great Coach, New Team, the Best Players for 1 Dream,” Monty G. texted. “A 2nd Super Bowl here in Philly BABY BAABY!! GO BIRDS!!”
Stick with what works
“Every single thing that every fan does, at home or at the stadium, has a direct impact on the game.” The quip was a joke, made by Eagles center Jason Kelce on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” after the Birds’ 2018 Super Bowl victory. But many Philadelphians take it to heart.
Chef Marc Vetri is continuing his postseason tradition of dying his facial hair bright green — with one notable adjustment: he’s returning to what worked five years ago.
“It’s very important I do the green beard after the first playoff win,” Vetri said. “Last time I did that they won the Super Bowl. I did it the last couple of years at the start of the playoffs without a first win and they lost every time. This year I waited!”
Many others are attempting to recreate their steps. McGillin’s Olde Ale House is bringing back its green-colored beer, something it had only done outside of St. Patrick’s Day for the 2018 postseason. Jigar Desai, the “Eagles Pillar Guy,” is dutifully recreating his run into a pillar before every playoff game.
Back before his media days, PhillyVoice’s Clancy followed a very specific routine for Eagles games, which he attended with his father. When they pulled up to tailgate, the first thing Clancy did was set up the speaker.
“I always played the same two songs back-to-back to start the morning off: ‘Beautiful Day” by U2 and ‘Take It Easy’ by the Eagles — in that order,” he said.
When heading to his dad’s season tickets in the upper level, they took the same escalator every time, making sure to high five the same attendant.
New good luck traditions are also taking shape. After Holley’s attempt to crush a board with the New York Giants logo on live TV went viral — the Fox 29 host had an accidental slip and fall that would put the Three Stooges to shame — viewers begged her to repeat the move.
“Now people are messaging me … ‘You have to do it again. You have to try to break the board and do the whole thing over because we won last time you did it,’” Holley said earlier this week.
On Friday morning, Good Day delivered: Holley smashed another logo board.
She didn’t land on her butt this time, thanks in part to a purposefully added non-slip mat. “Hopefully it’s not the ‘fall’ part, it’s just breaking the board that people are calling for,” she said.
In general, she’s a fan of all the good vibes, and doesn’t think they’ll turn out to be a jinx.
“For so long, we’ve had to deal with people calling us ‘Negadelphians’ and all that,” Holley said. “I think it’s beautiful that folks are optimistic.”
