What a night! And morning, for some.
The Eagles avenged 2023’s Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a resounding 40-22 victory to secure a second-ever title.
There’s plenty more celebrating to come. For now, it’s time to pull yourself together physically and mentally for work, school, and life before the parade on Broad Street.
A draft of this story was put together before the 2023 game Super Bowl ended. Unfortunately, the outcome meant the other, less-fun version went up instead.
So with a little dusting off and updating, here are some steps experts said can help you celebrate the right outcome.
Food and drink
To get your sleep-deprived (and perhaps hungover) body back on track, you need to hydrate. That doesn’t just mean chug a bunch of water first thing in the morning, said personal trainer and health coach Natalie Mitchell.
Instead, you should drink water throughout the day — and maybe try some Gatorade.
“The other thing with hydration is definitely electrolytes,” Mitchell said. “Sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, those are different things you get through foods as well as any type of electrolyte powder you can toss into water.”
As far as sustenance, it’s important to get your body back into a regular eating routine, she added, even if your energy levels or stomach aren’t quite feeling up to it.
“One really good option is a smoothie with protein powder in it, maybe chia seeds, or like a nut butter,” Mitchell suggested when it comes to breakfast. “That’s going to keep your stomach really happy because it’s easy to digest.”
In general, she advised meals that have “healthy fats, proteins, [and] some good sources of carbohydrates in the form of colors: vegetables and fruits.”
Eggs offer a good source of proteins and fats, but Mitchell advised against the oily and fat-heavy bacon egg bagel sandwiches you’re probably tempted to order on your way into work, suggesting you make a lighter version at home instead.
Exercise a bit, even if you don’t want to
Tempting as it might be to stay sedentary, Mitchell encouraged at least some form of gentle movement.
“Sitting at a desk all day, while it feels good, by the end of the day you might get a little bit of stiffness,” she said. “Even 10 minutes outside before work, maybe at lunch and at dinner — 10 minutes throughout the day is even better than just sitting down.”
It’s not about “burning off” the excesses from the night before, she added, but if you’re feeling energized enough you can return to your regular workout, while paying close attention to your energy levels so you don’t overdo it.
Mitchell said in 2023 that if the Eagles won, she’d be out celebrating with friends on Broad Street — though not too late, seeing as she has to teach in the morning.
“I mean, why not? It’s one night of sleep,” she said. “But I’m definitely going to make sure I’m staying hydrated throughout, so that the next day isn’t going to be as tough to wake up for.”
Relish the moment, but tamp down the trash talk
As far as the mental recovery goes, feel free to enjoy yourself, said Mike Bass, a former sportswriter who’s now a certified life coach specializing in sports fans (yes, that’s a thing).
He encourages fans to revel in this relatively rare moment in a way that’s true to yourself, provided it doesn’t harm you or anyone else.
“For some people, it might be writing a letter to themselves. It might be buying all the Eagles stuff they can. For others, it might be going to the grave of a loved one who used to take them to Eagles games and sharing it with them,” Bass said. “It’s whatever it means to you to enjoy this.”
As fun as it can be to trash talk as a victor, Jill Lamar, a professional anger and anxiety counselor, advised fans to show a little empathy.
“Just celebrate the winners and — like a lot of really gracious coaches do — say, ‘Both teams played their hearts out and we applaud that,’” Lamar said “There’s always going to be a winner and there’s always going to be a loser. It was us this time.”
She used her Giants fan neighbor as an example: If the Eagles beat New York, she just gives a thumbs up, drops a “Go Birds,” and leaves it at that.
Readjusting with a group
In all the euphoria of celebrating a title win, artist and mental health advocate Clancy Philbrick did highlight the negative emotions that can sneak up on a devoted fan when their Sunday schedule no longer has the familiar routine of NFL game days.
“You’re riding this wave of fandom, especially on a big playoff run, and you’re swept up in it. And then that wave crests,” Clancy said. “And even if it’s a success, all of a sudden there’s this loss of like, ‘Oh, I don’t have this thing that I was doing for the last, you know, really 20 weeks.’ ”
After Philadelphia picked up the bleak honor of becoming the first city to lose two major sports championships on the same day in 2022, Philbrick, who also works with the LiveWell Foundation to help provide Philadelphian’s experiencing depression equal access to support, offered a support group session to help dismayed Phillies and Union fans process their respective seasons. Whatever the outcome of the Super Bowl was going to be, Philbrick was planning another Sad Boy Fanatics meeting to help process either outcome.
Philbrick is hosting a Sad Boy Fanatics group for Philadelphia Eagles fans on Tuesday Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at CultureWorks, which will offer fans “facilitated conversations, end-of-season rituals, and the opportunity to bond with other fans that understand the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with the territory.”
While a winning season is much easier to deal with than the alternative, Clancy said that having that safe space to process both game outcomes helps to deal with the sneakier negative emotions that don’t always show outwardly, particularly among men who tend to be brought up to hide them.
“They can express their feelings, whether it’s anger at a particular player or coach, or just the outcome, or it’s sadness, or grief, or the feeling of loss,” Clancy said. “And just being able to put words to those feelings, I think’s the biggest success and opportunities we’ve seen created by it.”
If you don’t really care
For non-sports fans, the reactions of friends, family, and the city as a collective can be hard to relate to.
Eagles coverage and the general good vibe of the week will be pretty inescapable, so if the non-fan was on the fence about jumping on the bandwagon, now’s the perfect time to do it. Existing Eagles fans should be welcoming for those who want to join at this late stage, without any gatekeeping or judgment.
“Everybody gets to enjoy this,” Bass said. “Isn’t it great to be in the city and see all this green out there? This is what you live for. And if maybe you end up getting a few extra Eagles fans along the way, how cool is that?”
For the non-sports fan, there could be worse things happening than everyone celebrating in anticipation of a parade on Broad Street.
“I think you really have to swim against the tide not to root for Philly sports if you live here,” Lamar said. “Especially the Eagles.”
