Eagles fans mad a modification to the Love statue. (Credit: Emily Montgomery, via Fox 29)
PHILADELPHIA - The night before the Eagles parade, you couldn't get anywhere close to the front of the Art Museum with a car.
That didn't stop Eagles fans.
While the city had the area immediately in front of the Art Museum and the Ben Franklin Parkway closed from the steps of the museum down to 21st Street starting at Midnight, Eagles fans decided to get creative.
Take Jaime Sabo from Pemberton, N.J., for example. He, his girlfriend and another friend loaded up their sedan with pillows, blankets, snacks and drinks and found a parking spot on Pennsylvania Ave. near 25th St.
That may be close to the side of the Art Museum, but with all the temporary fencing put up, you couldn't walk the front steps from there. Instead, you had to hoof it several blocks around the fence line, and then down into position to even get a sightline of the festivities.
No matter, they were going to brave the sub-freezing temperatures for several hours to get a glimpse of a championship celebration that most fans under 50 in Philadelphia have memories of experiencing twice before - in 2008 with the Phillies and 2018 with the Eagles.
"My girlfriend, she got to come to the parade in 2018. I didn't," Sabo said, dressed in a bald eagle onesie. "So this one is more special to me. But I think it's only going to be the first of many for this team."
Yes, confidence is rare among the Philadelphia sports fan, but these Eagles were so dominant in the way they just won a championship, and they are young and mostly returning next year - so why not do it again?
But first thing's first, celebrate this championship.
Why would Sabo want so spend the night - and an entire next morning waiting?
"We're Philadelphia fans, this is what we do," he said.
FLOCKING TO PHILLY: SEPTA lines are packed with Eagles fans making their way downtown to celebrate with the team at today’s Super Bowl Parade! #FlyEaglesFly
MORE: https://t.co/T5FThhD5k8 pic.twitter.com/RXk00kGqbB
But seriously, his girlfriend had told him that in 2018, she got dropped off at the parade and it was a mob scene trying to get anywhere within sightline of the stage at the Art Museum.
Getting down there 14 hours early was more of a veteran move, so they could get a good spot.
"We're gonna try and keep warm in the car until about 4 a.m. though," Sabo said. "It's freaking cold."
That it was. The temperature was 28 degrees and falling at the time we talked to Sabo. The wind was steadily blowing at 13 MPH.
That wasn't a concern to Eric McClellan and Daishon Sanders of Southwest Philly. They were the first fans to arrive at the Art Museum - at 1:30 P.M. Thursday.
"I figure I'd be here first so I can get me a nice spot so I could see the whole thing," McClellan told 6ABC.
More than 24 hours early.
"We just ready to party," Sanders said.
So was Drew Winstanley, who flew in from Toronto (he lives an hour north), just to be here for the parade.
"I was supposed to come down with the wife, but they moved the parade further out than we expected," Winstanley said. "She's a nurse and she works weekends, so I just flew in myself."
Winstanley, who has one of the most amazing Eagles-dedicated man caves on the planet, (you can follow it on Tik Tok), hopped a plane, loaded up a rental car, found a parking spot several blocks from where fans were gathering, and stepped out into the cold.
@philly_north_cave #SuperBowl #philadelphiaeagles #fyp #blowthewhistle #kansascity #nfl @Philadelphia Eagles @drinkgaragebeer @New Heights @Chiefs @Jim McMinshew @WestcoastnBirds @Birdman951 @Eric Emanuele ♬ Blow the Whistle - Too $hort
"I'm Canadian, this is nothing," he said, before venturing over to meet some Philly-based friends who were among the hundreds that got there around midnight - or sooner.
One Philly cop who was on patrol by the art museum said the numbers started to swell by about 7P.M.
Hannah Adams, who grew up near Atlanta but now lives in D.C., arrived in town on a train just after Midnight to visit her boyfriend, who lives close by the Art Museum.
She was here last weekend too and said she couldn't believe how the city reacted to the championship on Sunday night. "It was surreal, but it was pretty cool."
She was back again this weekend, and she promised her friends that it had nothing to do with the Eagles winning or the parade.
"Last weekend was his birthday and this weekend its Valentine's Day," she said. "It just so happens all this Eagles stuff was happening at the same time. I'm really interested to see what the parade is gonna be like."
Adams sent a text to Philly Daily early Friday morning that the crowd had nearly tripled in size from the night before and that they were blaring the Kendrick Lamar song "They Not Like Us" almost as a wake up anthem to the city.
Eagles fans are the best ❤️
Filmed at 7am at the Art Museum for the parade.
Video: snypazz on IG pic.twitter.com/NMnqE8YbyE
But the stars of the overnight hours had to be Keith Johnson and Derek Nicholas, who drove 19 hours from rural Iowa for the parade.
Neither had a plan to sleep or stop anywhere. They parked their car in the heart of University City. "Somewhere by some college, " Johnson said.
When he was asked if it was Drexel University, he said, "Is that the one with the dragon statue?"
Yes, Keith, it is.
They hoofed it from there over to the Art Museum. Their plan was to stay outside all night, then, after the parade, go to the Eagles pro shop, if it were still open, then drive the 19 hours back. No hotel stay or anything.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, so why not make it memorable," said Nicholas, who said being from Iowa, the cold weather was nothing to worry about. "I once sat outside for 36 hours for the release of a Play Station 5."
He's nothing if not dedicated.
The only other thing they want to do while they are in Philadelphia for the first time, celebrating their favorite football team.
"Get a cheesesteak," Johnson said. "Got any recommendations?"
Of course... but not for publication. We need to remain objective here. The internet is forever, after all.
Just like this parade will be for the hundreds of thousands who attend it, no matter where they are from, how they got here, or the weather conditions they braved to experience it.
