Jalen Hurts reaches the Rocky Steps as Philadelphia celebrates Super Bowl victory
Quarterback Jalen Hurts walked the streets of Philadelphia smoking a cigar and holding the Lombardi Trophy.
Guard Landon Dickerson chugged beer with Eagles fans during the 5-mile parade from Lincoln Financial Field and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Safety Reed Blankenship led a short sing-a-long of Meek Mill’s “Times Like This.”
The three players with Alabama football roots joined their Philadelphia teammates as the City of Brotherly Love celebrated on Friday the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday to win the NFL championship for the 2024 season.
City officials estimated 1 million fans would turn out for the championship parade, and a huge crowd came together at the end to hear from the team’s stars with the statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa looming in the background.
A former Alabama quarterback, Hurts won the award as the Super Bowl MVP on Sunday.
“I told myself when I got drafted that I wouldn’t come to the Rocky Steps until I won a championship,” Hurts told the crowd. “And now we’re here. This year, this team has had to battle through so much. This team has had to fight. This team has had to persevere. And there’s been a ton of scrutiny, a ton of opinions, a ton of all of that. But I know about this city, one thing we do: We fight. We fight.
“And you go through the course of these games, and you learn that success isn’t built off approval. It’s built off of endurance. Endurance is built off of strength. You can’t lose if you don’t quit. And in Philly, we don’t quit. So thank you. The next pursuit begins. Go, Birds!”
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Hurts wore a hoodie with the words “Love, Hurts” on it, the catchphrase of the Nike ad celebrating his Super Bowl victory despite his detractors. And in LOVE Park in Philadelphia, the LOVE statue had been amended with the word Hurts beside it.
Like Hurts an Alabama alumnus and a second-round draft pick, Dickerson has been a Pro Bowl selection in three of his four seasons as Philadelphia’s left guard. He spent parts of the parade route off the top of the bus and along the barricades celebrating with Eagles fans – high-fiving with one hand and holding a beer in the other.
“Without you guys, every fan here,” Dickerson shouted during his turn at the microphone, “every fan in Delco, Montgomery County, Chester County, across PA and across this country, this wouldn’t have been possible.
“I’ll tell you right now: When I got drafted here, everybody said it was impossible to play in Philly. I found out all y’all want is for us to give everything we can for this city, and y’all give it right back.”
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Blankenship and cornerback Cooper DeJean were introduced as the “Exciting Whites” as they came to address the crowd.
“Philly, just a boy from Bama,” shouted Blankenship, who starred at West Limestone High School. “We up here in the city, baby!”
Blankenship then started a sing-a-long that was continued by the crowd after he and DeJean had walked away from the mic.
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Other members of the Eagles with Alabama football roots who played in Sunday’s Super Bowl victory included fullback Khari Blasingame from Buckhorn High School, linebacker Nicholas Morrow from Huntsville High School and wide receiver DeVonta Smith and offensive lineman Tyler Steen from Alabama.
Philadelphia also has defensive end Bryce Huff from St. Paul’s Episcopal and cornerback Eli Ricks from Alabama, who did not play on Sunday, as well as injured-reserve players James Bradberry from Pleasant Grove High School and Samford, Jack Driscoll and C.J. Uzomah from Auburn and Byron Young from Alabama.
Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (left) and cornerback Cooper DeJean (right) address the crowd at the end of the parade celebrating the NFL team’s victory in Super Bowl LIX on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.