Letters to the Editor | Feb. 18, 2025

I am immensely jealous! As a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan, the parade held in honor of the Eagles Super Bowl win was an incredible display of love and support for the team. And as a visitor to the city, I also witnessed Philly living up to its moniker as the City of Brotherly Love. At the coffee shop near where I was staying, I sat and enjoyed my beverage Friday as several customers trickled in. While placing their orders, each greeted one another with kindness and conversation about the win and ensuing parade. There was an overwhelming and contagious sense of pride, with people just being genuinely happy and connected.

When I left the coffee shop, traffic around Broad Street was already heavy. There was a young man dressed in full Eagles regalia, blaring music loud enough to feel it reverberate in my chest and honking his horn as he drove his Jeep down Walnut Street. On any other day, that would be a pretty obnoxious move — not on parade day! He encouraged all in his path to yield and pay homage to what he was feeling; they were feeling it, too.

A few blocks later, there was a young man wearing an Eagles cap taking a large pile of restaurant garbage bags to the curb. The pile spilled, and without hesitation, a group of five men all wearing Eagles jerseys stopped to help. It took only a minute out of their day, but it is something that I will never forget — a beautiful display of kindness. Standing with the massive crowd near the Art Museum, fans were continuously jockeying for position, but no one passed another without a friendly greeting, a polite word when passing by, and acknowledgment of why they were there.

It’s too bad every day can’t be parade day, and not just in Philadelphia.

Lawrence Crawford, Durham, N.C.

A big shout-out to SEPTA for the planning and execution of getting fans to and from the parade on Friday. The decisions to have a limited number of stops open and lots of helpful personnel deployed to those stations were terrific. We had a great experience on the Broad Street Line. Kudos to Kevin Hart for subsidizing the subway rides. Imagine if more millionaires stepped up to fund mass transit on a more regular basis.

Susan Henick, Wyndmoor

There was a lot of talk about how much the city needed this Super Bowl celebration. Well, we certainly didn’t need all the trash left behind by parade attendees. Between law enforcement, sanitation, and construction workers, how much did the parade cost? I hope Howie Roseman’s head is OK after sustaining a cut from the beer can hurled at him. Classy.

Teresa Simpson, Philadelphia

Go Birds! You made us proud and brought the people of Philadelphia together. Though sports celebrations are joyous events that bring all ages together, the players may benefit from a reminder of who their audience is and that they are role models before taking the podium. Mixing beer and alcohol with athletic excellence (that goes for the media and fans, too) isn’t a positive message for our children, and though passion takes over during these moments, spouting curse words from the podium should be reconsidered. May the Flyers and Phillies build on the Eagles’ success!

Joseph Hoffman, Shoreline, Wash.

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