Fans play catch across Broad Street along the Eagles parade route
A good throw resulted in cheers from the crowd, and a bad one — this being South Philly, of course — drew thunderous boos.
How about a little football with your parade?
Revelers along the parade route weren’t there just to catch a glimpse of the Birds — they wanted to toss around the old pigskin, too.
At Broad and Snyder, it was an East vs. West Broad matchup as fans on both sides of the street tossed a football back and forth. A good throw resulted in cheers from the crowd, and a bad one — this being South Philly, of course — drew thunderous boos.
“You stink!” someone screamed after a ball got stuck in the middle of the road due to a terrible spiral. A Philadelphia police officer, however, swooped in to save the day, retrieving it and sending the crowd into cheers once again.
Not even the drones were safe. Some fans, viewing their footballs as anti-aircraft missiles, attempted to swat down a flying robot with perfectly timed tosses.
“Hit the drone! Hit the drone!” people chanted.
Alas, it was not to be. The mortarmen aimed a few times without success before the drone’s pilot got the message and buzzed the craft away.
Parade-goers at City Hall likewise saw the route as a gridiron, and tossed balls across the thoroughfare. The completion percentage was perhaps a little off, but the crowd’s spirit was not dampened.
The celebratory mood briefly turned tense for a few minutes on Dilworth Park as a fight broke among teens in the audience. Police handcuffed and removed one person, who said he was 17, as the crowd chanted “E-A-G-L-E-S.”
The music, laughter, and game of catch resumed shortly after.