Two weeks of Super Bowl preparation are becoming routine for the Delaware Valley. The Birds smash a lowly challenger in the NFC title game, people pour out to Broad Street to celebrate, buy some merch and get ready for the Big Game itself.
The Eagles will be in the Super Bowl for the third time within the last decade and the second time in three seasons. We inhabit a timeline where people are fortunate enough to have their own Super Bowl traditions and superstitions, ones that supersede whatever happens for a rinky-dink regular season Sunday afternoon game.
The Eagles are in the midst of their most successful run in franchise history and, really, have been on this trajectory since the dawn of the 21st century. Since the 2001 season, they've been to eight NFC Championship Games, three Super Bowls and could be on the cusp of winning their second Lombardi Trophy. I'm 30. For as long as I have concrete memories, the Eagles have been good or, at least theoretically good and in the mix.
It's a special, special time for this city. Enjoy it. Soak it up. Spend time with family, friends and loved ones all decked out in Midnight and Kelly Green and hope for yet another parade. Calories and carbs don't count until next Monday morning. Go to that little pop-up Birds-themed bar or that vintage flea market to snag a new jacket for your Super Bowl watch party. Buy some overpriced decorative cookies that say "Hurts So Good" written on them. Walk down the street in your Brian Dawkins jersey like you own the whole sidewalk. Super Bowl lead-up in Philly is the adult equivalent of holiday school vacation. If you're not living life to the max right now, you're doing it wrong.
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I say all this because while the Eagles are a dominant team now and look poised to continue being one with the young talent that stacks this roster, windows in the NFL just aren't as open as every fan base hopes they are. Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb never got back to the Super Bowl after that loss to New England. Everyone assumed they'd eventually get over that hump, but they didn't. The 2017 Eagles? They were going to be a dynasty in the consciousness of this city, but Doug Pederson and whatever quarterback was out there between Nick Foles and Carson Wentz never reached the Promised Land again.
Things change so quickly in the NFL. Look at last season! The Eagles burned out after their Super Bowl loss. Philadelphia is fortunate its team rebounded and is ready for revenge against Kansas City in New Orleans, but, looking at how things stood a year ago at this time, that was far from guaranteed.
It's not just Philadelphia. Tom Brady went 10 years between winning rings. Aaron Rodgers won once at 27 and never returned to the ultimate NFL stage. At some point, perhaps as soon as next Sunday, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will stop winning. Father Time is undefeated and maybe you're left with a multi-decade Super Bowl appearance drought like the Birds once had.
This is what you dream about as a fan, the glorious stories you concoct as a kid in the school yard or in barroom discussions with your friends. "What if the Eagles won the Super Bowl and they were just the best team in the history of this city?" That's the legacy that's on the table.
Live it up for Super Bowl week. You never know how long you'll have to wait for the next one.
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