(Editor’s note: Freelance writer Santiago Ortiz, a former Billy Penn intern, is in New Orleans this week, and provides this first-person account of covering a Super Bowl Week staple — Monday’s media appearance by both teams. He spoke to three Eagles players who grew up nearby and are now playing for the team they grew up rooting for. Well, two of them. More on that below.)
As the days count down to Super Bowl 59, the festivities have officially begun. Opening Night was on Monday, when both teams were present to address the media. The event took place in New Orleans on the field at the Caesars Superdome, the same field they’ll compete on Sunday.
For one hour, the entire Eagles team was in one place, and hundreds of reporters scrambled to gather quotes and videos of the team. It’s … competitive, for the media members, if not the players and coaches. A few players and coaches are given a podium, but the majority walk around the field and interact with the reporters. While you may have to wait your turn, you can walk up to any player, rattle off your questions, and then move on.
I decided to use my 60 minutes seeking out Eagles players who had roots around the Philadelphia area, and who had been representing their city and state since before their NFL days.
I first spoke with Jeremiah Trotter Jr., the Eagles rookie who is arguably the most “Philly” guy on the entire roster. His father, Jeremiah Trotter Sr., played seven seasons for the Birds. He grew up an Eagles fan and attended high school at St. Joe’s Prep, where he won three state football titles. Twenty years ago, when his father won an NFC championship with the Eagles, baby Trotter Jr. was on the field, in his father’s arms. Now here he is, two decades later, following in his father’s footsteps. It’s the kind of storyline you’d see in a movie.
“You couldn’t write it any better. Hometown kid, drafted to the Eagles … and then his first year makes it to the Super Bowl. It’s just crazy to think about it.” he says.
I asked him how it felt to be the most Philly guy on the team, and he cracked a smile.
“It feels pretty good, being a hometown kid, knowing the different areas, knowing the city. Being a fan of the team already, it’s pretty great,” he said.
As for his favorite cheesesteak spot: “I’d probably say Gaetano’s is one of my favorites.”
In 2018, Trotter watched his favorite team win their first Super Bowl. In 2023, he watched them lose in the big game. This year, he won’t be watching, he’ll be playing.
The next guy I spoke to is a Penn State superstar who broke school records. No, not Saquon Barkley. Barkley was one of the players with a podium, and the crowd around him may have been the biggest of any player. With just one hour of availability, I wasn’t willing to wait 40 minutes to rattle off one question. The time was too precious.
The Penn Stater I talked to was Jahan Dotson. While at Penn State, he broke the single-game receiving record and became the team’s first player ever to have two catches of 70 or more yards in a game. He also has the highest punt return average in team history.
While both Dotson and Barkley went to Penn State, they were not teammates in college. Dotson arrived the season after Barkley left State College and declared for the NFL draft. However, Dotson did play against Barkley in high school.
“It wasn’t very fun, didn’t work out for my team.” Dotson says. “But it’s pretty cool to play with him now in the NFL.”
Dotson grew up in Nazareth, Pa., in the Lehigh Valley. Though he was in the greater Philadelphia TV market, Dotson did not grow up an Eagles fan. Nonetheless, he’s got a lot of love for the area.
“[I’m] just trying to put on for Pennsylvania,” says Dotson.
Finally, I had a brief conversation with former Pitt star and current Eagles backup QB Kenny Pickett. His father is from the area, so the younger Pickett grew up an Eagles fan. He got a chance to play this season while Jalen Hurts was out with a concussion, and helped boost the Eagles to a dominant, 41-7 win versus the Cowboys in week 17 of the regular season. I only had time to ask him one question.
“Have you tried teaching Jalen Hurts the fake slide?” I asked, referring to Pickett’s infamous fake slide in Pitt’s 2021 ACC Championship Game. Pickett scored a 58-yard touchdown after pretending to slide during a rush attempt, fooling defenders into easing up and thinking the play would be over. Pickett took advantage of this deception and blew right past the defenders for the touchdown. The move was controversial, and the NCAA banned it less than a week later.
“I have not, man, they banned it. If it was still in the game I could try and show him it, but nah, I haven’t,” Pickett responded.
And that’s how I spent my 60 minutes at Opening Night. It was incredible to stand around with these guys who grew up locally, watched the Eagles play, and now get the chance to be part of a Super Bowl victory. Hopefully they can secure another ring for the Birds.
Santiago Ortiz is a Temple University student and the founder of No Shorts Media.
