I woke up one Friday morning last month and said the craziest thing to Joe: “We should go to the parade.” For some reason, I had this strong feeling it would be fun to join the wild crowds on the streets of Philadelphia. No idea why. I mean, yes I was happy the Eagles had won the Super Bowl, but was I that happy?
Not that long ago, I would have never called myself a sports fan, let alone an Eagles fan. In fact, if you and I had talked, I would have told you I thought society’s obsession with sports was a detriment to society. (I’m not kidding.) I thought if sports fans took all that energy and brain power, and focused it on something else, the world might be a better place.
(Sidenote: I don’t know that my thesis there is completely wrong. But that’s not the point of this month’s column.)
I even had a conversation with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio about my theory. In his view, though, sports does make the world a better place. He is very passionate about his belief that sports can unite people when the only thing they have in common is a devotion for their team. Sal also said sports is a pastime that helps people forget, just for an hour or two, any stress or troubles they may have. It may have been a frustrating conversation for him. He felt strongly about this, and I wasn’t buying it.
But then here I was driving to Philadelphia on Valentine’s Day.
When we crossed through the tolls on the Walt Whitman Bridge, we saw traffic in the opposite direction at a standstill. People had stopped their cars – right there, about 40 feet from the toll booth, in the middle of the road – and they were standing along the edge of the overpass, looking out to the stadiums where the parade would begin. I’ve never seen anything like it before. There was a crowd of people standing on a road no one would ever in a million years stop on.
It took a while but we eventually found our way to Broad St., where the parade would pass. You know those photos you’ve seen of people squeezed shoulder to shoulder to watch the parade go by? That isn’t where we were. We had breathing room, plenty. We were very strategic in where we stopped, about halfway between City Hall and the stadiums. The crowd we stood in was a typical size for a parade. We were lucky. We were also smart, because my daughter Klein was there too. She was two blocks from City Hall. So those pictures you saw? Yeah, that was her. But she will tell you it was awesome.
In all, we stood on the street for about 4 hours surrounded by happy, happy people. People laughed and cheered – loudly. They put their arms around strangers. If you dropped a hat or glove, three people bent to pick it up. If you needed to move through, people stepped aside and helped you get by. They sang and chanted for their favorite team. One person we didn’t know offered Joe an opened bottle of tequila, which he drank from and handed back. Right there on the sidewalk. I was a little amused, a lot appalled.
Turns out, we went to a party where we didn’t know anyone, yet we felt right at home. That’s very unusual if you think about it. There aren’t many places you can go where there’s no judgement, no questioning, no complaining, no misery. For this one day, the Eagles threw a party and welcomed everyone. The fans showed up and happily celebrated with whoever was standing next to them – just whoever. Not sure where else that happens. But I’m glad I was there.
And oh…Go Birds.
Follow @mariannealeardi on Instagram
