Move over, Dallas Cowboys.
There’s a new and unlikely America’s Team in the NFL — at least for the Super Bowl.
The Philadelphia Eagles have become the popular choice among many football fans who want to see the Kansas City Chiefs lose for various reasons.
Despite a fan base known for its obnoxious, unruly behavior and a coach who gets under the skin of many opponents, the Eagles are the last hope for the anti-Chiefs crowd.
A young man wearing a midnight green No. 26 Saquon Barkley jersey was greeted with “Go Birds!” chants as he walked through a theme park in Orlando two days after the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 55-23 in the NFC championship game.
The group of friends saluting him included a Giants fan, a Dolphins fan and two Patriots fans. They’re all rooting for Philadelphia against Kansas City even though none of them could sing “Fly! Eagles! Fly!”
“I hate the Eagles but they’re the lesser of two evils,” the long-suffering New Yorker said. “Plus, they have Saquon Barkley. We couldn’t even win with him so I’m happy he’s doing well in Philly. It’s still painful to watch sometimes but I can’t stand the Chiefs."
Some fans are simply tired of watching Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs hoist another Lombardi Trophy. Kansas City is seeking its fourth Super Bowl victory in its fifth appearance in six years while aiming to become the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
There’s a perception that officials give the Chiefs the benefit of many calls so that angers fans and some vocal media members. A pair of roughing the passer penalties on Mahomes in Kansas City’s divisional round game against the Texans only fueled that notion. Then a questionable spot on Josh Allen’s failed fourth down sneak in the win over Buffalo in the AFC title game sparked even more criticism.
SiriusXM radio show host Adam Schein called the officiating in the Bills-Chiefs game a “disgrace.” ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said the ball placement on Allen’s play was an “awful call and again a worse review.”
Patriots fans don’t want Mahomes and coach Andy Reid to get closer to the record six championships Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won together in New England.
Brady fans resent that Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, is compared to No. 12 when he’s still four rings away from tying him.
“Stop with the GOAT comparison already. Brady won seven. Mahomes needs one more to get past halfway,” said a Tampa doctor who grew up in Boston.
Other fans, especially those who haven’t enjoyed a victory parade in a long time or ever, are simply jealous of Kansas City’s success. Many of those fans probably felt the same animosity toward the Patriots when they were winning.
All those commercials featuring Reid and Mahomes can annoy some fickle folks, making them turn against the Chiefs. Of course, it’s difficult to watch any NFL game without seeing former Eagles center Jason Kelce pop up in one advertisement after another.
There’s also the Travis Kelce factor. The four-time All-Pro tight end happens to be dating the world’s biggest pop star. Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift has often dominated headlines and taken the spotlight off football.
That bothers some of the die-hards who complain about seeing television cameras pan over to Swift’s reaction in a suite. While Kelce has endeared himself to Swifties, every famous couple has its share of haters.
That’s all added up to make the Eagles the fan favorite heading into the Super Bowl rematch in New Orleans on Feb. 9. Mahomes rallied the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory over Jalen Hurts and the Eagles two years ago in Arizona.
As for the Cowboys, who were given the “America’s Team” moniker in the late 1970s, they haven’t been to a Super Bowl in 29 years.
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