I have had a love hate relationship with the NFL my entire life; especially this year.
To be completely honest, I boycotted the regular season simply because watching football did not feel right, and still doesn't. With racial tension at new heights and the NFL owners blackballing Colin Kaepernick from play, there was little hope for me watching anymore games. However, there was only one situation that could make me turn away from this strong stance: The Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Even in these moments of uneasiness and short tempers, there are no fans like Eagles fans. The love for the Eagles in the city of Philadelphia goes hand and hand with cheesesteaks and pretzels. A true Philadelphian loves their home teams and success within each franchise can unleash a passion like no other. I knew I would catch side eyes from tuning into the Eagles as they triumphed to the Super Bowl, but this win dug deeper than the NFL.
The Championship win brought the city together in ways never imagined. For the moment, color lines were saturated and a common happiness was emitted throughout the Philly streets (Yes, there was some reckless behavior but hey, it comes with the territory). This energy was even felt 3000 miles away in a room full of Philadelphians in Los Angeles. The joy in the room had such an effect that it coerced me into flying cross country to join the celebration. My consciousness backed this happy moment by making me aware that the parade was something that I just could not miss.
On Thursday, the city was lit. Those who bleed green flocked to the city by the thousands to properly celebrate the Philadelphia Championship. I Broad-Street-Lined my way to center city and trudged through what seemed like brick walls of fans. I pushed down the parkway protecting my camera like the Lombardi itself, in hope to catch a good snap of the men of the hour. This took a good amount of energy but I caught some good moments that I would like to share with you all. The city will remember this day forever.
