A Parade And Vince Lombardi Trophy On Broad Street Philadelphia. A Million People Show Their Love For The Eagles

I awoke in my hotel on Broad in Philadelphia on Friday morning to the sound of Eagles chants echoing up from below my room at the Double Tree Hotel.  It was only 6 a.m. but the crowds were already gathering on Broad Street to reserve a spot to watch the Super Bowl parade. I was excited to join in celebrating with,  and  honoring the Eagles,  on their awesome Super Bowl  trouncing of the Kansas City Chiefs. I have been an Eagles fan  for over a half century.

After a quick cup of coffee I was down on Broad Street walking through the gathering crowds of fans streaming toward the parade route even though the parade didn’t start for 5 hours.

It was windy and cold ad I walked under the clear skies up Broad Street toward City Hall.  I saw the crowds quickly grow. Loud “let’s go Eagles ” chants and Fly Eagles Fly songs filled the streets.

Broad Street was closed from the Lincoln Financial Field to City Hall.  Metal fencing lined the parade route. At  City Hall where the crowd were larger and louder .

The parade would continue on JFK Boulevard to the Art Museum.  I left City Hall and walked back south on Broad Street.

I walked past the same theaters and buildings as the previous afternoon walk. News reporters and camera crews could be seen along Broad Street.

The subway stations were closed and displayed support for the Eagles rather than the usual train info and advertising.

I was now in a more residential area of the city and there were no crowds lining Broad Street. I realized the crowds near City Hall were mostly folks from out of town staying ( for a premium price) at the many hotels there. They were out early getting their monies worth of celebrating.

The folks living in this residential area could come out later and watch the parade. These streets would be crowded in a few hours.

I walked past more Eagles symbols,

and signs for Super Bowl Parade events in the neighborhood.

Garbage trucks blocked the intersections,

and some local folks   were getting ready to feed the crowds, and earn a few dollars. The Super Bowl Parade will bring in a million fans and 100’s of millions of dollars into the local economy. .

The  full moon was setting and

the sun rising when I  walked down  to  Christian Street. Here I turned around and started back up on the other side  Broad Street.

I passed   people selling Eagles shirts and souvenirs, and a lot more Eagles fans.

There  was now a large crowd in front of my hotel,

and  as  along Broad Street as I  again continued toward City Hall.

Almost everyone in the crowd was dressed in Eagles green. The  sidewalk along Broad Street was now full of people and some were  finding anyplace they could  where they can watch the passing parade.

I decided not to shove  my way through the crowd on Broad Street, so I took a side street,

and walked past the famous Wanamaker Store, which also had a sign showing support for the Eagles,

and onto Market Street passing large groups of  Eagles fans, yelling and chanting, and many drinking beer,   despite the frigid temperatures.

I walked past the famous Reading Terminal Building and saw long lines of Eagles fans waiting for it to open at 8 a.m.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos of my walk on Broad Street. Philadelphia Super Bowl parade part 1. February 14 2025

I wantd to get my miles in but not  shoving and pushing through the crowds so walked into one of my favorite  neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Chinatown.

I have spent many hours roaming it’s street and  eating in the many restaurants here. I finally found a street not  filled with screaming Eagles fans. I t was quiet for a Saturday morning, probably because of the parade. There weren’t a lot of people on the streets here but there were still some Eagles fans. They were everywhere in the city.

I walked back toward the Convention Center and again joined the  multitudes of Eagle fans streaming toward the parade route.  I  decided to take a quick walk through the Terminal ,

and found lines of Eagles fans at all of the many restaurants in the  historic erminal.

I left the Reading Terminal and re-joined the mob of Eagles fans and walked past the Marriot Hotel. I have spent many night here visiting Philadelphia and attending legal seminars at the Convention Center.

I walked with the crowd on Filbert Street on the north side of  City Hall.  The street was packed with  Eagles fans cheering as they walked.

Police officers were now directing the fans toward the Art Museum. I soon found out why.

I tried to walk around City Hall and back to Broad Street.  At first I was able to walk and  shove my way through the crowd of Eagles fans. 

However, when I got to Broad Street  the was no way to push through the crowd. I had to turn back and walk around City Hall.

Rather then fight through the crowds I followed an alley  back to Locust Street. I still passed groups of Eagle fans along  the way

When I got to Locust Street I again encountered  an almost imapssble mass of people all cheering the Eagles. It was a joyful crowd but it still wasn’t easy pushing my way through it.

I had to push and shove through  the crowd and was lucky to get back to my hotel. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos of my walk . . Philadelphia Super Bowl parade part  2 . February 14 2025

It was around  9:30  a.m. and I was hungry.  I decided to have breakfast at the hotel.. When I wnet to  the  hotel restaurant I  was told that they ran out of food.  My only option to eat now   was the snack and coffee shop in the hotel lobby. I was told thee snacks and   sandwiches, .  I walked down to the lobby and found a long line, I waited in line for over 20 minutes only to find the sandwiches and most of the other food items were gone. The last bagel was sold to the folks in front of me. I was able to get an English muffin, with cheese, a strawberry yogurt and a fruit cup.  I ate the paltrry $20 meal in my room listening to the crowd below. . It was’t  the best meal I waver had but at least I had a view.

At 11 a.m and I watched the start of the parade on television. I was told it wouldn’t arrive at the hotel until around 12:30. I had a decision to make . Where to watch the parade, I could have watched it in my room or venture outside into the massive crowd. I decided on thr third option ,  the hotel mezzanine on the second floor. There was only a small crowd of hotel guest  and a nice view of Broad Street.

I  waited with the crowd for about 20 minutes when I heard the shouts rise up  in the room. . A long line of  police cars and motorcycles soon drove past.

Then police vehicles stopped near the hotel. I heard someone  in the crowd say this was not a  good thing since it meant the buses with the players had stopped  and were probably interacting with the crowd a few blocks south of us.

When the vehicles started moving  I  realized that observation was correct.  The parade wasn’t going to stop in fron of the hotel.  It was exciting to seeing  buses drive past the hotel below us.  There were 28 buses in the parade with  the players, coaches and Eagles personal  on each bus waving as they passed

I had hoped they would have stopped in from of the hotel and interacted with the crowd below us. 

I took more videos of the passing buses than I did photos,

Here is a link to my YouTube channel with a video of the bus with Jeffrey Lurie on  it, the owner of the Eagles. You could see the Vince Lombardi Trophy, given to the winner of the Super Bowl, being passed forward   on the bus  in the video. https://youtube.com/shorts/vZ5Yct0CPKw?si=E07B1MpfKwnuGvaJ

I watched the other buses go by, some spewing confetti into the crowd. I was only able to make out a few players but it was still a great expereince.

The only vehicle to stop was the last  an Eagles car . Even though the parade didn’t stop in from of me it was  still an exciting experience. 

As the parade moved  on I left the mezzanine and returned to my room. I thought about walking to the Art Museum but knew I wouldn’t get close to the stage so I decided to watch the  speeches  in my room. I also peeked out at the crowds on Broad Street moved to the Art Museum.

The speeches given by the players, coach and ownership were inspiring and the masses of people cheered,  They lasted until 3 p.m. After they were over  I decided to walk back outside and  into the dissipating crowd. Over a million  people came out to watch the parade.  The crowds along Broad Street were gone, and there was a lot of thrash left behind.

I walked up to Market Street again.

And  then on to Filbert Street  where I meet the  large crowds of Eagles fans  heading  back from the Art Museum.  Many had a few drinks and loud Eagles chants and shouts filled the late afternoon air. It was a mood of celevration and pride for the Super Bowl Champs and the city

And  crowd was peaceful and joyful,  I had now walked over seven miles and didn’t see a single fight or act of vandalism.

I enjoyed listening to the thousands of happy folks talking about their experiences. I especially enjoyed seeing the children who will remember this day the rest  of their lives.I walked down 16th Street,under the shadows of the towering office building to Locust Street and back to my hotel.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos of my afternoon walk . Philadelphia afternoon February 14 2025

It was now after 4 p.m. I had now walked over 8 miles, a lot of it pushing and shoving my way through crowds, I was tired and hungry. I spent a half hour called restaurans and trying to make reservations on line. It was Valentines Day and I was having no luck finding a table. Finally, I was lucky to get a reservation for 5 p.m. at the Samuri , a Japanese restaurant only a block from my hotel on Locust Street. It was a quaint little restaurant and a pleasant watiress took my order. first a bwl of delicious bowl of  miso soup,

 then a  scallops bento box. I have eaten a lot of Japenese food and this was one of the best I had. Everything was delicious. I wss prety full,

but I hsd to try the fried green tea ice cream .  It was a wonderful meal and a great way to end a truly awesome day. I returned to my room and listned to the loud Eagles chants echo up from Broad  Street as I edited photos before I feel asleep. It was an awesome day in my favorite city. I enjoyed every minute of it.  The celenrations when on into the esrly morning hours. I had to put earplugs in to fall asleep, a small inconvienence  for a Super Bowl Championship.

“You can’t lose if you don’t quit. And in Philly, we don’t quit. So, thank you.” Jalen Hurts 

The bottom line is you have to win the big game, and that’s the Super Bowl.  Joe Flacco