It may always be Sunny in Philadelphia, but it’s even sunnier out on the West Coast. For most teams, traveling across the country can have a negative impact. A different timezone, a different way of preparing and different surroundings can make the task of facing a playoff team that much harder. The Eagles experienced that much one week ago in Seattle. But seven days later and still a million miles from home, the Eagles have been made royal guests.
Our first inkling came when the team travelled to L.A earlier in the year to face the Chargers in the StubHub center. A winless team may not be overly attractive to the residents of a City that boasts the Lakers, Dodgers and now a Rams team carving its way through the NFL, but the stadium was filled by a sea of Midnight green. No transient fans here, just fight song after fight song, cheer after cheer, and a hostile environment laid onto the team who called this place home.
The Eagles now return to L.A and their welcome says it all. Firstly, the players were greeted with Mike Trout bobbleheads, courtesy of the two-time American League MVP. His team, the Angels, allowed the Eagles to use their field and facilities for practice this week. Treated like Kings, the Eagles were made to feel right at home.
Today, the icing on the cake. A visit and a motivational team-talk from none other than Kobe Bryant. THE Kobe Bryant. A Philadelphia native, Bryant stopped by the facility earlier today to meet his beloved Eagles and give them a talk ahead of their clash with the Rams on Sunday.
Then of course, there’s the fans…oh the fans. It has now gotten to the stage where FOX are actively casting “Rams fans” for their pre-game show. Why would they need to do this? It’s a home game, surely it would be filled to the brim with fans of a team who currently sit perched atop the NFC West with a 9-3 record. Think again. The Colosseum is expected to be filled with Eagles fans sporting midnight green jerseys. If you think I’m being overdramatic…
My cousin was getting a rental car in LA and was asked where’s he from? He mentions Philly. The guy at the rental said that 85% of their business this weekend is coming from Philly. Also said, the Eagles fan invasion is similar to the Chargers game earlier this season.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) December 7, 2017
“Yeah, it was exciting to see even — I was on the field when they opened up the stadium gates and it just flooded in, the sea of green.” Those were the words spoken by Doug Pederson just one day after the team defeated the Chargers. “It was great to see all game long. They were loud, they were noisy. Our fans travel extremely well. And it was great for our guys. Guys were able to feed off of that.”
This isn’t a typical road trip for the Eagles. The Rams have been one of the most exciting teams in the league and will walk into their own stadium as an underdog without any kind of advantage from the fans. The field has been neutralized and the Philadelphia faithful will do all they can to give their team an injection of life in one of the most important games of the year.
Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
