Howie Roseman strolled to the podium, Lombardi Trophy in hand, and took a big puff of a celebratory cigar.
His forehead had been cut by a can of beer thrown in his direction, but the Philadelphia Eagles’ general manager didn’t seem to mind.
“I bleed for this city!” he bellowed.
Below, a sea of fans clad in Kelly green roared back in approval, not that they had ever stopped.
Cheers and beers were aplenty throughout downtown Philadelphia on Friday as scores of Eagles fans braved the cold to celebrate their team’s second Super Bowl championship.
Philadelphia secured its latest Lombardi in dominant fashion, blasting Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX last Sunday in New Orleans.
The party started late Thursday night, with fans sleeping in tents along the parade route to ensure they’d get an up-close look at their heroes the following day.
After beginning on Broad Street, the parade route made its way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the Eagles took the podium atop the iconic “Rocky” steps to give speeches.
Players posed for pictures with fans along the way while catching beer cans thrown from the jubilant crowd. Tight end Dallas Goedert even made a one-handed snag on a hoagie tossed his way atop one of the parade’s double-decker buses.
Star running back Saquon Barkley made a young girl’s third birthday extra special by lifting her up and holding her as giddy family members recorded the interaction. Barkley also recognized one of the team’s ball boys in the crowd and helped him over the barricade to join the parade.
Roseman wasn’t the only one to fire up the sea of fans from the podium, as Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts, head coach Nick Sirianni and wide receiver A.J. Brown all sent the crowd into a frenzy when they approached the mic.
“You know, I told myself that when I got drafted, that I wouldn’t come to the Rocky steps until I won a championship,” said Hurts, who accounted for 293 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl win. “And now we’re here.”
Sirianni, 43, secured his first title in his fourth season as the Eagles’ coach. He did it by avenging a three-point loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII two years earlier.
“This team is special. We can’t be great without the greatness of others and that certainly applies to our fans,” Sirianni said.
Brown, who caught a 12-yard touchdown from Hurts and finished with three receptions for 43 yards against Kansas City, clapped back at the criticism he received throughout the regular season.
“They said I was a diva, they said all I care about was stats,” Brown said. “You gonna get all those things wrong about me, but one thing you get right: I’m a (expletive) champion!”
Brown, Hurts and company got off to a shaky start in 2024, losing two of their first four games ahead of their Week 5 bye.
The Eagles soon found their stride and rattled off 10 straight wins to seize control of the NFC East. They clinched the division in Week 17 and finished 14-3 to secure the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Never having to leave Philadelphia throughout the NFC playoffs, the Eagles took care of the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders before exacting revenge on Kansas City and former Philadelphia coach Andy Reid, storming ahead 34-0 in the third quarter against the two-time defending champions.
“I’m so happy you didn’t have to go through a nail-biter game,” veteran defensive end Brandon Graham said. “It’s about us being gritty. We’re going to stay gritty.”
Friday’s parade was not entirely joyful, though.
Area police said two women were shot in the leg during an argument that occurred near the parade route, per ESPN. It is unclear whether the shooting was related to the celebration.
Last year, one person was killed and at least 22 others were wounded in a mass shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, Mo.
