Field Level Media: Doug Pederson walked the parade route with the Lombardi Trophy in hand and offering hordes of fans lining the streets of Philadelphia a championship moment of their own.
The Eagles’ head coach and players, many of whom rode through crowded streets in trucks and open-air double-decker busses, were flanked by fans who had arrived along the parade route as much as nine hours before the festivities began Thursday morning.
CBS News reported the City of Philadelphia estimated about two million fans were along the parade route to see players and families pass by in a fleet of four busses.
A replay of Super Bowl LII played on a massive screen in front of city hall. On one corner in South Philadelphia, a fan rolled a casket behind the barricade separating the fans from the parade with a sign reading “We buried the Patriots.”
Eagles center Jason Kelce dressed as a mummer and right tackle Lane Johnson invited fans to toss players beer along the route. Kelce stopped at one point, beer in hand, to sign an autograph for a Philadelphia police officer in his ticket book.
The Eagles are celebrating Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, the first championship for the franchise since 1960.
Current players paid homage to Eagles’ legends with defensive tackle Fletcher Cox honoring Reggie White with a No. 92 jersey and left tackle Jason Peters wearing newly inducted Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins’ No. 20 jersey.
Fans from all corners of the United States made their way to Philadelphia.
One fan interviewed by NPR said he was from Tampa, Fla., and made the drive to spread his father’s ashes during the parade.
Others cried and embraced over a moment they said they did not expect to share.