It was the win everyone in Philadelphia wanted, and it came without a lot of drama. Maybe that was the most surprising thing, that it came relatively easily.
Regardless of how hard it was, the Eagles won the second Super Bowl in team history, 40-22, in New Orleans, avenging a loss two years ago to these same Kansas City Chiefs.
“We spanked them,” said one reveler on Broad Street. They weren’t wrong.
As he has done in other big games, quarterback Jaylen Hurts was impressive, and the defense was spectacular, stymying the sports’s biggest winner, Patrick Mahomes, until the game was all but over.
And Nick Foles trolled Tom Brady. Just about a perfect night.
It's really cool that Tom Brady got to be there for the Eagles' two Super Bowl wins! He might be a good luck charm.
— Nick Foles (@NickFoles) February 10, 2025
Have a great night!
When it ended, fans in Philly flooded the streets in Center City. The scene at City Hall was tense, as police held lines that restricted use of sidewalks and forced celebrants into cramped spaces. In the wake of celebrations that got out of hand two weeks ago and included the death of a Temple student who fell from a street pole, there were incidents — at least two street poles were toppled, the crowd climbed atop a bus shelter, tried to overturn a police cruiser at one point and commandeered a truck and sacked its contents — but no serious injuries or arrests.
There has been no announcement regarding a Super Bowl parade, but Thursday is forecast to be rainy. The team hinted in a social media post that it will be held Friday.
Halftime euphoria
Eagles fans were jubilant in Mac’s Tavern in Old City. And they had good reason to be: the Birds were on their way to a 40-22 victory over the threepeat-seeking Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.
Cheers and E-A-G-L-E-S chants broke out for every Birds score or sack on Patrick Mahomes, and boos rang out when West Reading native Taylor Swift appeared on screen (though one heckler kept calling her “Taylor Smith,” along with an expletive).
At the half, fans stepping out of bars along Market Street begin to celebrate and cheer together, with tinges of amazement at how well the half had gone.
Birds fan Courtney Foster travelled all the way from Fort Worth, Texas, for the game.
“Because we wanted to party tonight, because we know we gonna beat their a** tonight,” he said.
Foster said he, like most of the Delaware Valley, felt pretty confident going into the second half.
“Broad Street party, baby,” he said.
Fans pack bars ahead of game
Fans from all over packed into bars and restaurants along South Street ahead of kickoff for Super Bowl 59.
Outside MilkBoy, students Vala Sigursjoddir, Joanna Abdelmalak, Jade Regnart, and Grant Hampton — from Iceland, Canada, South Africa, and Savannah, Ga., respectively — stepped out for some air. They arrived at the bar over two hours before kickoff.
“I watch [football] once a year and it’s on the Super Bowl day,” Abdelmalak said. “Since I go to school in Jersey, I’m now … an Eagles fan.”
Zayn Makki arrived much closer to kickoff and was still in a long line to get into a crowded Paddy Whacks Irish Sports Pub.
“I’m getting a little annoyed, I want to be in there before the game starts,” he said. “I won’t be happy if kickoff happens while I’m out here.”
Makki brought a whistle, in reference to viral sensation Gillie da King and “Blow the Whistle.”
Peter Pantina got his tickets for the watch party at Cavanaugh’s Headhouse Square on Tuesday, after he found out his friends were going to be there. He opted not to join his fantasy football group at Ortlieb’s.
Patina, a self-confessed 49ers fan, brought a Super Bowl jersey that referenced no individual team but had NFC and AFC on the shoulders, which he was planning to give to a friend inside as a peace offering. He himself wore a white, button-down shirt with eagles stitched over each of his collarbones.
“ I love my city, I love my friends, I love my family,” he said. “I almost wore my Sixers jersey tonight — I’m a big Sixers fan — but supporting the city of Philadelphia.”
Patina’s plans after the game? Regardless of the result, getting straight back to his job editing video.
