The Eagles’ Super Bowl parade is a daylong party as Philadelphians express their love for the Birds

On a day set aside to honor the patron saint of love, it would be only too obvious to observe that the city and jubilant sports fans in Philadelphia delivered a four-hour adulatory valentine to the Super Bowl champion Eagles.

But if anything, what transpired Friday from the depths of South Philadelphia to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art affirmed that even the obvious can be true.

“Love Hurts” signs were ubiquitous at the Super Bowl parade celebration. Saquon Barkley slapped hands with fans reaching over a barrier and celebrated with a 3-year-old. Green-clad fans showed up pushing the sartorial limits, including one in a three-piece, homemade Eagles-themed suit.

Cooper DeJean, a Super Bowl star, allowed that along the parade route, “I’ve seen a lot of people asking me to be their valentine.”

And by the time the parade had finished its sojourn from Pattison Avenue to the steps of the Art Museum, the crowd — some who had been waiting since daybreak — were ready to give it up for the likes of Jalen Hurts and Barkley.

They were so primed that they appeared to grow restive and emitted some boos during Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s remarks, spiced with “wrap it up” chants. She may be hoping that Hurts or Barkley don’t run against her next time around.

For the most part, the crowd was well-behaved. However, two women were shot in their legs near the parade route amid a dispute over a porta-potty line and hospitalized in stable condition.

At least one fistfight, near City Hall, was reported, and a trash truck was commandeered by fans. Otherwise, the day was all about celebration. And, yes, the celebrants were kind enough to leave mass quantities of litter.

A few of those on hand got a bit too exuberant. Howie Roseman, the general manager and architect of the championship roster, was bleeding from the forehead after he was whacked by a beer can. Roseman drew a roar from the crowd when he announced, “I bleed for the city.”

» READ MORE: The best Eagles Super Bowl parade speeches, from ‘I bleed for this city’ to a Philly sing-along

Overall, however, the crowd was remarkably chill on a day when a biting northwest wind drove wind chills into the 20s.

Some of the celebrants even beat the sun, which emerged just before 7 a.m. from a dreary Thursday, evidently anxious to join the party, with nothing but green confetti falling through the skies.

The Eagles Nation Green Army — armed with folding chairs, other necessities, and cases of Bud Light that needed no refrigeration — had swarmed the coveted strategic locations near the Art Museum. Ready to wait six or seven hours to see the conquering heroes.

Meanwhile, with fresh reinforcements delivered by jammed subway and train cars, brigades of fans began a parade before the official Super Bowl parade honoring the Eagles, some shopping for prime viewing spots around City Hall, others proceeding into the wind on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the museum.

They were latecomers compared with Mike Iles and his friends from Hammonton. They packed into two jitneys — usually seen rolling the streets of Atlantic City — at 3 a.m. to get a parking spot at the South Philly sports complex.

» READ MORE: The best signs at the Eagles parade

Hours later, during the midmorning at Jefferson Station, commuters from the suburbs fanned out by the hundreds.

After they arrived along the parade route, some folks opted to set up camp and fire up the grills; not the worst idea given the chill. Fans on either side of Broad Street threw footballs to one another at Broad and Snyder, the nexus of South Philly.

Honking horns, Eagles chants, and the intermittent “Go Birds!” filled the air as a sea of green migrated east around 7:30 a.m., headed toward Center City from 30th Street Station. Even the sunrise got a cheer. “Oh, it’s so pretty,” said a passerby.

At midmorning, the Walnut-Locust SEPTA station was closed to prevent new riders from entering, but huge crowds were inside. Some riders trying to get out of the station from the closed entrance grew agitated, climbing light poles and lifting themselves on top of the enclosure that protects the stairs to try to get out.

Celebrants pushed the sartorial boundaries. Dianna Doucoure, 21, spent two hours embellishing her jeans with Eagles swag. On the left leg, E-A-G-L-E-S was spelled out in kelly green fabric paint. On the right was Mayor Parker’s famous misspelling of E-L-G-S-E-S.

And did anyone dress in a Mummers costume, evoking Jason Kelce’s famous appearance at the 2018 Super Bowl parade? Do the Eagles wear green?

» READ MORE: Eagles fans fueled up for the parade with smoked meats, cheesesteaks, and a pig that’s supposed to be Patrick Mahomes

Paul Viggiano stood back from the crowds gathered on South Broad Street, taking in the view from his 11th local championship parade — two Phillies, two Sixers, two Flyers, three Villanova, and now two Eagles. He wore a purple Mummers costume, an homage to his 41 years with the South Philly Strutters and to Kelce.

They pushed boundaries of good taste. At one point around City Hall, they turned precious porta-potties into dancing stages.

”Excitement, period,” said a dancing Kenneth Wall, 58, from North Philadelphia. “This is the best I’ve ever seen it.”

Sign-making fans showed off their creativity. The best of show may have been, “Contractions can wait. Parade can’t,” toted by May Tosto of Northern Liberties. She is due Saturday, and took proper precautions to stand on the east side of Broad Street, at Wharton Street, to be closer to Pennsylvania Hospital.

“What else is she gonna do,” said her husband, Mike, “sit at home and maybe have the baby?” At last report, she remained pregnant.

Yes, shocking as it may seem to our readers, some fans did indeed get unruly.

Zack Williams, a heavy equipment operator from West Philly, has worked for the Streets Department for 31 years, but nothing could prepare him for jousting with parade day fans. They “started climbing on my truck,” said Williams, who was on duty at Broad and Locust. They were polite enough to ask first — but not polite enough to accept no for an answer.

They prevailed.

Mostly, however, the day was all about a party. No anxiety over who was going to win, or if Philly would endure its next crushing sports defeat.

The Parkway could well have been a combination of an outdoor version of the Superdome and Bourbon Street after the game Sunday.

A mega-sized screen was replaying the Super Bowl. With under two minutes to go in the game — when the Birds’ win was a certainty — fans raised their cups in the air and shot off confetti as they relived an all-time Philadelphia sports highlight.

Then, suddenly, Hurts appeared on the screen via live stream. Donning his now-signature black beret, the man of the hour was atop a bus. The main event was on the way!

The crowd was decidedly intergenerational. Paul Krzywicki’s 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte, climbed a tree to get a premium vantage point, with the help of fellow Eagles fans. “I was bored and I wanted to climb something,” she said.

» READ MORE: ‘Everyone was happy’: Kids soak up the Eagles’ parade

And it was left to 9-year-old Katie Kane of Northeast Philly, who obviously has a precocious understanding of Philadelphia sports history, to summarize why so many people would want to be there.

Said Kane, whose favorite player is Barkley and watched the parade on the shoulders of her cousin: “I didn’t care if it was like snowing, I didn’t care if it was super cold, I just wanted to come out.

“I just really want to have the opportunity cause it could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

Staff writers Emily Bloch, Jake Blumgart, Bedatri D. Choudhury, Alex Coffey, Ximena Conde, Kristen A. Graham, Thomas Fitzgerald, Frank Kummer, Chris Palmer, Ariana Perez-Castells, Aliya Schneider, and Aubrey Whelan contributed to this article.