Thanks to the Eagles, 102-year-old Eloise Brown is going to the Super Bowl: ‘I can’t believe it, a little old lady like me’
Brown was invited to the Super Bowl by the Eagles. The longtime fan has had the chance to meet and hang out with the team.
NEW ORLEANS — On Tuesday afternoon, Eloise Brown got an unexpected Zoom call. It was the Eagles’ team president, Don Smolenski.
“I’m calling from New Orleans,” Smolenski said. “I have a question to ask you. Would you like to come and join us and watch us on Sunday?”
“Me?” Eloise replied.
“Yes,” Smolenski answered.
The 102-year-old fan was speechless.
“Oh my,” she said with a big smile.
» READ MORE: Meet Eloise Brown, a 102-year-old Eagles fan who doesn’t miss a snap, and watches games with a stress ball
The surprises didn’t end there. When she got to the airport on Friday, she learned she’d be flying first class on the Eagles’ charter flight. When she arrived at the team hotel, she was greeted by wide receiver A.J. Brown, who gave her a hug and a signed jersey.
“He’s wonderful,” she said. “You can see the goodness in his heart. He gave me a hug, and I squeezed his hand and I said, ‘I know you know he’s always taking care of us.’ And I meant the master. And he said, ‘Yes ma’am.’
“[He’s] a Brown and I’m a Brown. That was really interesting. Although we’re not related. But the Browns got the win, that’s it.”
Eloise Brown has been alive longer than the Eagles have had a franchise and says she hasn’t missed a game since the 1960s. A few weeks ago, the team invited her to their Dec. 29 game against the Dallas Cowboys. She greeted players as they walked down the tunnel — everyone from Brandon Graham to C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Now, she’s going to the Super Bowl and staying at the team hotel, where the 53-man roster is milling around. It’s given her the chance to reconnect with some of the players she bonded with a few weeks ago — and one player who she hasn’t met yet.
“I know she wants to hug Jalen [Hurts], because he got hurt a little while ago,” said Eloise’s granddaughter, Sabrina Hall.
The other night, when she was having dinner with Hall and her other granddaughter, Sakina Johnson, Graham walked by. Hall called his name and pointed to Eloise.
Hall said Graham’s face lit up. He ran over and gave her a big hug.
» READ MORE: Eagles activate Brandon Graham, who will make his improbable return to Sunday’s Super Bowl
“He was like, ‘We’re going to win. We got this,’” Hall said. “And she was like, ‘You got this. We’re going to win.’”
Graham saw her again on Saturday afternoon, as he was walking toward the hotel elevators. She told him she was excited for Sunday.
“I know,” he said with grin, as he gave her a hug. “I’m excited, too.”
Later that day, she ran into Gardner-Johnson at a restaurant in the hotel.
“He said, ‘Thank you for being here. We got this,’” Hall said. “And she said, ‘Yep, we got this, we’re going to win, we’re going to win.’”
Eloise refers to A.J. Brown and Graham as her “adopted grandchildren.” She has met a few other celebrities on this trip. Comedian Pete Davidson was on her flight. She didn’t know who he was but enjoyed their conversation.
“He was wonderful,” Eloise said of Davidson. “A beautiful human being. Like he’s my son.”
She also connected with Ryan Quigley, one of the victims of the terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. Quigley was severely injured in the attack and lost his best friend, Tiger Bech.
Hall said the 26-year-old and the 102-year-old talked for about 20 minutes.
“Before we got on the flight, I met a young man who was very sweet,” Eloise said of Quigley. “And we had a conversation. We hugged, we kissed, we sat together and talked about the game.”
Added Hall: “She gave him a hug. She told him she was sorry for his loss, and she was glad he survived. They bonded because she looks at him like a grandson. She looks at everybody like her children and grandchildren. That story really touched her.”
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The past few weeks have been surreal for Hall and Eloise. She’s become somewhat of an internet sensation and gone viral on TikTok and Instagram. She’s been interviewed on Good Morning America twice and recently was on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.
But after watching decades of Eagles football — the good and the bad — having the chance to see them win their second Super Bowl in three years is the greatest gift of all. That doesn’t mean it will be easy, though. Eloise is going to bring her stress ball with her to the game.
“I’m happy with their playing,” she said. “I’m very happy. Because I know they’re going to win. It’s hard work. It’s not easy. And the pressure is on them. But with pressure comes a great ending.
“I can’t believe it, a little old lady like me. Usually I’m watching them so carefully, little old me, sitting in my little apartment. This is something I never thought possible, but it’s happening. It’s unreal. But it is real.
“I held some of them, hugged some of them, and gave some of them a kiss. And I know they’re going to be just fine.”
The Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.