It was the year of the underdog.
At least in the NFL, when the Philadelphia Eagles overcame an injury to MVP candidate Carson Wentz (remember him?) and the greatest quarterback in NFL history to bring Philly fans their first Super Bowl championship.
The entire run, from squeaking by the Atlanta Falcons to blowing out the Minnesota Vikings to knocking off Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, was one big party. And the party culminated with a fantastic parade, including one of the best not-safe-for-work speeches of all time by All-Pro center Jason Kelce.
Just like these days, it was a great time for fans, and before we get hyped up for the Andy Reid Bowl, let’s take a look back on the great run of 2018, led by Philly legend Nick Foles.
It wasn’t pretty. Then again, no one expected it to be with Nick Foles at quarterback on a cold and blustery evening.
But it didn’t matter to the Eagles.
All week long, they had quietly seethed about being the first No. 1 seed to be underdogs in the first two rounds of the playoffs, mainly because of Foles, taking over for the injured Carson Wentz.
Close oneEagles hold Falcons 2 yards short, reach NFC title game
Fletcher Cox holds up the Championship trophy as the Philadelphia Eagles win the NFC Championship at Lincoln Financial Field.
The party started hours before the game began in the parking lots, and it kept on going right on through the night when the Eagles roared past the Minnesota Vikings and clinched a berth in the Super Bowl.
Who would have thought this when the season started? Or when four key starters suffered season-ending injuries, including star quarterback Carson Wentz?
Yet there was Wentz’s backup, Nick Foles, throwing deep and accurately. And there was the Eagles’ defense stopping the Minnesota Vikings cold after the Vikings scored on their opening drive.
Super game:Super Foles, defense lead Eagles to Super Bowl
PHILADELPHIA — The three-word chant of the night involved Tom Brady and an expletive. Toilet paper rolls unfurled from windows high above street level. There was dancing and singing, chanting and cheering.
There were sparklers and fireworks, “Free Meek Mill” screams and more profanity directed at Tom Brady. The jubilant crowds turned Minnesota’s trademark SKOL chant into a battle cry for Nick Foles.
Party time:Eagles fans, local and foreign, party into the night in Philadelphia
MINNEAPOLIS — Maybe it started to sink in about an hour after the game ended, long after the green and white confetti flew, and long after quarterback Nick Foles held his baby daughter on the podium and held the Lombardi Trophy.
After all of that, and the dancing in the locker room, including by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, head coach Doug Pederson gathered his players in the locker room, and with a raspy voice told them: “You guys are world champions!”
Time to party:Start celebrating: Foles helps Eagles end Super Bowl drought
PHILADELPHIA — It was the biggest party the city has ever seen. The region’s most popular sports team — by a good bit — won its first Super Bowl, and hundreds of thousands turned out to celebrate.
They flooded Broad Street, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and elsewhere before the sun was close to showing. They drank. They ate. They passed out in alleys. They screamed and shot videos from cameras and phones when the Eagles rode by on their nearly 5-mile parade route.
Philly Philly:Relish this Eagles parade; you may not see it again
PHILADELPHIA — With bursts of confetti, a “Philly” sky-writing tribute and beefy Eagles players slapping hands in the crowd, two dozen double-decker buses rumbled down Broad Street Thursday in what all the haters had dismissed as an “impossible dream.”
Along the 5-mile route, the white-knuckled fans who wouldn’t abandon their Birds, cheered, blew bubbles and sprayed beer from rowhome windows, church roofs and hospital steps. In turn, their Super Bowl champions patted their hearts and pointed to them in gratitude.
Early start:Impossible dream? Not for Eagles parade-goers
PHILADELPHIA — Any Eagles’ highlight of 2018 has to begin — and end — with the first Super Bowl in team history.
There was no way to top the images of the team celebrating on the makeshift podium at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis after the stunning 41-33 win over the New England Patriots on Feb. 4.
There were the indelible images of the confetti flying and quarterback Nick Foles holding aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy in one shot and his baby daughter with the pink headphones in another shot.
We win:Start celebrating: Foles helps Eagles end Super Bowl drought
