Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Tuesday 6 February 2018
Eagles get hero’s welcome after winning 1st Super Bowl title

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Dan Mazzoli, 53, a disabled ridor to have never won a The vast majority of revel- just off Broad before joining
Associated Press construction worker and Super Bowl. ers celebrated peaceful- a much bigger party out-
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Fresh die-hard fan from New Jer- The city scheduled a vic- ly, and police made only side. “It’s a great city, and
off their first Super Bowl title, sey, shared the moment tory parade for Thursday three arrests, said Ajeenah now we have a Super Bowl
the Philadelphia Eagles ar- with his 12-year-old son and along a 5-mile route that Amir, a spokeswoman for to go along with it.”
rived home to a hero’s wel- 11-year-old daughter. will stretch from the Eagles Mayor Jim Kenney. Fans clambered atop the
come Monday afternoon, “We’ve been waiting for stadium complex to the “Tens of thousands came awning at the swanky Ritz
hours after overjoyed fans this all our lives,” he said. steps of the Philadelphia out and celebrated this Carlton Hotel near City Hall,
mobbed the streets in a Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, art museum, whose steps amazing victory, and but jumping off into the crowd
sometimes unruly victory the unassuming backup Sylvester Stallone ran up for a handful of bad ac- in what one Twitter post
celebration nearly 60 years quarterback who took during “Rocky.” It’s a fitting tors, the celebration was called “Ritz Carlton Skydiv-
in the making. over for injured star Carson ending point for a team peaceful and jubilant,” ing.” The awning later col-
Hundreds of fans greeted Wentz and played brilliant- that Stallone had cheered Amir said. She lauded po- lapsed with a large group
the team’s plane at Phila- ly throughout the playoffs, on throughout the playoffs. lice for “their assistance of people on top of it. It
delphia International Air- wasn’t on the team plane. Revelers along the parade in getting the crowds dis- wasn’t clear if anyone was
port, cheering wildly and Foles headed — where route will be able to in- persed and people home injured. Nearby, windows
singing “Fly Eagles Fly” as else? — to Disney World, dulge in free Bud Light at safely.” were smashed at a Macy’s
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie riding a float at the Orlan- two dozen bars, thanks to Just as Foles and the Eagles department store and at
emerged with the Lombar- do resort and fist-bumping a promise the beer maker clinched victory in Min- an Old Navy clothing store.
di Trophy. Mickey Mouse amid a made to Eagles offensive neapolis, the scene more And apparently no amount
After getting off the plane, shower of green confetti. tackle Lane Johnson be- than 1,000 miles away in of grease in the world can
Lurie, Coach Doug Ped- “It’s all right to yell,” he fore the season. Philly was one of jubilation keep some drunken Eagles
erson and stars like tight fans from climbing poles in
end Zach Ertz and running Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, left, and head coach Doug Pederson approach celebration. A few man-
back LeGarrette Blount a fence where fans gathered to welcome the team Monday, Feb. 5, 2018, at Philadelphia aged to shimmy up traffic
approached the chain- International Airport a day after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52. lights and street sign poles.
link fence separating the Associated Press Amir said there were reports
team from the fans, smiling, of some injuries from falls
pumping their arms and told the cheering crowd. Philly had some cleaning up and pandemonium. near light poles but precise
shooting video with their “We’re world champs! We to do Monday after pock- Revelers shot off fireworks, numbers weren’t available.
phones. Fans stood on cars did it! We did it!” ets of Eagles fans turned drivers beeped their horns Vandals were seen hav-
and news trucks to catch a The underdog Eagles won unruly overnight, with row- and Philadelphians young ing an apparent food
glimpse. their first NFL championship dies smashing department and old descended on fight inside a gas station’s
“It’s been a long journey since 1960 on Sunday night store windows, looting a Broad Street, the main thor- convenience store, yelling
to redemption,” said John with a surprise 41-33 vic- gas station convenience oughfare that last hosted “Everything is free!” and
Hall, 49, who works at Phil- tory over the New England store and toppling a num- a major championship pa- overturning a car outside
adelphia’s public transit Patriots, ending a drought ber of the city’s famously rade in 2008 for the Phillies’ a hotel. After 1 a.m., the
agency. “We don’t have that had long tormented greased light poles. The po- World Series win. only people allowed inside
to hear the negative any- the city’s football-crazed lice commissioner said he “The city deserved it,” said the 24-hour Wawa conve-
more, that we don’t have fans. Philly was the only and other officers were hit 66-year-old Lou Potel, who nience store near City Hall
a ring. It’s official now.” team in the Northeast Cor- with bottles. threw a party at his home were police officers.q
Nielsen says 103.4 million watch Super Bowl 52

By DAVID BAUDER did a few years ago, with key Institute.
AP Media Writer streaming onto hand-held NBC said that if you add in
NEW YORK (AP) — An esti- devices becoming more people who followed the
mated 103.4 million people popular. game online, viewership
watched the Super Bowl on The dip was also tele- increased to 106 million.
NBC, a 7 percent drop from graphed by a poll con- And Nielsen said it has not
last year that indicates that ducted last week by Se- yet counted the number of
television’s biggest event ton Hall University, which people who watched the
may have peaked in popu- found that 54 percent of game outside of homes —
larity. Americans were preparing in a bar, for instance. Some
The Nielsen company said to watch the game. That’s perspective: despite the
it’s the smallest Super Bowl down from the 68 percent decrease, Sunday’s game
audience on television that said the same thing ranked as the 10th most-
since 2009 despite the un- two years ago, according watched television even in
derdog Philadelphia Eagles to the poll, which wasn’t U.S. history.
beating the New England Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9), gestures after done in 2017. The poll has Soothing any hurt for NBC
Patriots in a thrilling game throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a margin of error of 3.8 per- was Kantar Media’s esti-
that was close from start to against the New England Patriots during the first half of the centage points. mate that $414 million was
finish. NFL Super Bowl 52 football game, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, in “If you turned the game spent on advertising for the
Last year’s Patriots-Falcons Minneapolis. on at any time to say, ‘I Super Bowl telecast. That’s
game reached 111.3 mil- Associated Press wonder what’s going on,’ second only to the $419
lion viewers. The all-time against the Seahawks in fusing rules changes and or a friend texted you to million spent last year, a
Super Bowl record — and 2015. anger at players protesting say you should watch this, figure that Kantar said ex-
record for any television The NFL’s viewership has police brutality by kneel- you’re going to watch and ceeded 2018 only because
event in the United States been down this year, with ing during the national an- get hooked,” said Rick last year’s game went into
— was the 114.4 million experts citing factors like in- them. Similarly, fewer peo- Gentile, director of the poll, overtime, meaning there
who watched the Patriots creased injuries, some con- ple have cable than they also sponsored by the Shar- was more time to sell ads.q