The Andy Reid Bowl is approaching. We are nearing the end of a two-week hype cycle, with interview after interview in which the Chiefs’ coach says nice things about the city where he patrolled the sideline for 14 years. The reunion is bringing back a flood of memories for Eagles lovers all over the Philadelphia area, looking back at Reid’s run of six division titles, five trips to the NFC championship game and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.
But there is one notable group of people from Philly who share all those memories: the Eagles’ current players. Of course not! That Super Bowl was 18 years ago, and half of the roster was 7 or younger at the time.
Warning: If you saw the Birds play at Franklin Field, came of age during the Buddy Ryan era or went to an R-rated movie on the Friday night before the Pickle Juice Game, prepare to feel very old.
Now let’s be clear: We are not trying to shame anyone here. First, obviously, your age is not your fault. The first Super Bowl I can remember watching is SB XXVIII in January 1994. I was 6 years old at the time and went to sleep at halftime with the Bills leading the Cowboys 13–6. If conference championship Sunday had gone the other way and we were all covering Bengals-Niners here in Glendale, Ariz., I would not have had much to contribute to the oral history of their previous Super Bowl matchups.
And second, not everyone watches football when they’re in elementary school. I think a lot of times, sports-obsessives assume players are just like them—that they learned how to read by memorizing the backs of trading cards or spent every weekend wearing out NFL Films VHS tapes or DVDs. Some of them were like that. But of players were not, and it’s a totally normal way to grow up.
But I thought it would be fun to roam around a Sheraton ballroom and see what, if anything, the current members of the team might remember about Feb. 6, 2005.
