PHILADELPHIA − Eagles center Jason Kelce, man of the people, proudly chugged a beer in front of 45,000-plus Phillies fans last Friday night, danced with someone dressed in a Mummer’s costume, and bear-hugged the Phillie Phanatic.
There is a lesson there as the Phillies continued their improbable run to the World Series, but not what you might think.
Yes, the Eagles have been there, done that, just five years ago when they captured the region’s imagination and won the Super Bowl. But there are only seven players left from that team.
So many of the players are getting a glimpse of just how much a region can fall in love with its sports team. The Eagles are in a position to recapture that euphoria in late January. They are 6-0, the only undefeated team in the NFL, heading into their game Sunday against the Steelers.
That included wide receiver A.J. Brown, whom the Eagles traded for last spring. Brown was a baseball star growing up. He was drafted in 2016 by the San Diego Padres, the team the Phillies vanquished to reach the World Series, where they’ll face the Houston Astros beginning Friday night.
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For the record, Brown said he’s happy the Phillies won, and he had some questions for the team he could’ve played for after watching Bryce Harper hit a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth inning that gave the Phillies a 4-3 win.
“I don’t understand why people are still pitching to Bryce Harper,” he said. “It’s something serious. When you’re really seeing the baseball, you can hit any pitch. I think that’s where he’s at right now.”
Brown also noticed the adulation throughout the region, the throngs on Broad Street, with some trying to climb the greased-up streetlights.
And yes, Brown thought ahead to a similar feeling should the Eagles win the NFC Championship game, especially at Lincoln Financial Field.
“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t think about it,” Brown said. “But we’re going to try to stay grounded. We got a long way to go.”
Here’s where the lesson comes in.
“I just look at that team, and I think about the way they connect with each other,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said about the Phillies. “You want to emulate good teams, and you want to see what makes good teams good teams. They connect with each other. They’re always celebrating together. It’s fun to watch.
“All those different things, they went through adversity throughout the year, and came out better because of it.”
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The Eagles are getting that feeling.
Defensive end Brandon Graham is one of the few who were on the Super Bowl team. He couldn’t help but notice that there are many similarities. Five years ago, no one expected the Eagles to be that good after going 7-9 the season before, much like the Phillies weren’t expected to get this far.
That Eagles team had to overcome injuries to key players, including quarterback Carson Wentz who was playing at an MVP level before he tore his ACL that December after leading the Eagles to an 11-2 start.
This Eagles team had to overcome questions about quarterback Jalen Hurts, a defense that was often overmatched last season, as well as the coaching staff.
The Eagles and Hurts have answered all of those questions, just like the Phillies have.
“You see it on display when you see them play together,” Hurts said about the Phillies. “I saw the clip of Bryce Harper’s (homer), and he said, ‘I did that.’
“He made a truly game-changing impact, a legendary moment for his team. I check on things like that. I take notes on things like that. What the Phillies are doing, nobody expected them to do this. I think it shows the type of team that they are, how they’re coached, and the mentality that they have. We preach it all the time, and you see it on display when they play, is how they play together. Truly making plays for one another.”
It’s no wonder Graham said, “I pray for a team like this. I’m not going to lie.”
Then he added: “I’m just going to enjoy this, enjoy it all because it goes by fast … I’m just trying to enjoy this moment because everybody is on fire right now. In order for us to stay on fire, we’ve got to put the work in and not get full of ourselves.”
Graham was at that same Phillies game as Kelce. And he was roaring from the stands when he saw Kelce come onto the field in between innings to mingle with the Phanatic.
“I loved it,” Graham said. “That’s Kelce. Kelce is very Philly. People love Kelce, and that’s a perfect guy to come in and hype the team up.”
But Graham pointed out one difference between him and Kelce:
“I ain’t chugging a beer,” he said with a laugh.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
