The Eagles have landed.
Fresh off their first Super Bowl title, the Philadelphia Eagles arrived home to a hero’s welcome Monday afternoon, hours after overjoyed fans mobbed the streets in a sometimes unruly victory celebration nearly 60 years in the making.
Hundreds of fans greeted the team’s plane at Philadelphia International Airport, cheering wildly and singing ‘Fly Eagles Fly’ as Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie emerged with the Lombardi Trophy.
After getting off the plane, Lurie, coach Doug Pederson and stars like tight end Zach Ertz and running back LeGarrette Blount approached the chain-link fence separating the team from the fans, smiling, pumping their arms and shooting video with their phones.
Philadelphia Eagles Zach Ertz holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after touching down in Philly on Monday afternoon in front of hundreds of screaming fans
Fresh off their first Super Bowl title, the Philadelphia Eagles arrived home to a hero’s welcome Monday afternoon. Head coach Doug Pederson is seen above holding up the trophy as he left the plane
Fans stood on cars and news trucks to catch a glimpse.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, the unassuming backup quarterback who took over for injured star Carson Wentz and played brilliantly throughout the playoffs, wasn’t on the team plane.
Foles headed to Disney World, riding a float at the Orlando resort and fist-bumping Mickey Mouse amid a shower of green confetti.
The underdog Eagles won their first NFL championship since 1960 on Sunday night with a surprise 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots, ending a drought that had long tormented the city’s football-crazed fans.
Philly was the only team in the Northeast Corridor to have never won a Super Bowl.
The city scheduled a victory parade for Thursday along a 5-mile route that will stretch from the Eagles stadium complex to the steps of the Philadelphia art museum, whose steps Sylvester Stallone ran up during ‘Rocky.’ It’s a fitting ending point for a team that Stallone had cheered on throughout the playoffs.
Eagles fans stand atop a news van while waiting for the team to deplane on Monday following their Super Bowl victory
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox deplanes with teammates after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Monday afternoon to show the hundreds of fans who greeted the team’s plane at Philadelphia International Airport
Smiling players danced and pumped their fists as they greeted fans at the airport on Monday afternoon
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and coach Doug Pederson filmed as they approached a fence where fans had gathered to welcome home the team
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie carries the Vince Lombardi Trophy while walking to a fence to show it to fans on Monday afternoon
Ab Eagles fan chants while waiting for the team to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport on Monday afternoon
Hundreds of fans lined up at the airport to catch a glimpse of their winning team
Revelers along the parade route will be able to indulge in free Bud Light at two dozen bars, thanks to a promise the beer maker made to Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson before the season.
Philly had some cleaning up to do Monday after pockets of Eagles fans turned unruly overnight, with rowdies smashing department store windows, looting a gas station convenience store and toppling a number of the city’s famously greased light poles.
The police commissioner said he and other officers were hit with bottles.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney released a statement, saying ‘only three’ people were arrested in the celebrations.
‘Tens of thousands came out and celebrated this amazing victory last night, and but for a handful of bad actors the celebration was peaceful and jubilant. there were only three arrests. We’re thankful for our PPD for their assistance in getting the crowds dispersed and people home safely,’ the statement read.
Just as Foles and the Eagles clinched victory in Minneapolis, the scene more than 1,000 miles away in Philly was one of jubilation and pandemonium.
Philadelphia looked like a war zone on Monday morning, after Eagles fans trashed the city celebrating their first ever Super Bowl victory
Workers are seen above cleaning up shattered glass outside of a store that was damaged in the rioting
Another look at some of the shattered glass at the Macy’s in downtown Philadelphia
Yet another shop window shattered in downtown Philadelphia Sunday night
Eagles fans mounted traffic poles in the celebrations, bringing many to the ground
Revelers shot off fireworks, drivers beeped their horns and Philadelphians young and old descended on Broad Street – the main thoroughfare that last hosted a major championship parade in 2008 for the Phillies’ World Series win.
It is estimated that thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the win, but the revelry quickly turned violent and hoardes of police officers were called in to control the crowds.
Fans clambered atop the awning at the swanky Ritz Carlton Hotel near City Hall, jumping off into the crowd in what one Twitter post called ‘Ritz Carlton Skydiving.’ The awning later collapsed with a large group of people on top of it. It wasn’t clear if anyone was injured.
Nearby, windows were smashed at a Macy’s department store and at an Old Navy clothing store.
Authorities had greased lamp posts and traffic light poles across the city with slippery hydraulic fluid earlier in the day in a bid to discourage climbers.
But apparently no amount of grease in the world can keep some drunken Eagles fans from climbing poles in celebration. A few managed to shimmy up traffic lights and street sign poles.
Vandals were also seen having an apparent food fight inside a gas station’s convenience store, yelling “Everything is free!” and overturning a car outside a hotel. After 1am, the only people allowed inside the 24-hour Wawa convenience store near City Hall were police officers.
Police officers stand guard next to a traffic light while celebrating the Philadelphia Eagles’ victory in Super Bowl LII game against the New England Patriots on February 4, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fans celebrate in Center City after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl on February 5, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In a city of 1.5 million, it seemed as if there were 1.5 million revelers as thousands poured into the streets
A fan jumped down from the awning of the Ritz-Carlton hotel trusting that others would catch him
Philadelphia Eagles fans took to the streets to celebrate the team’s victory over the New England Patriots and to rejoice in the Eagles’ first ever Super Bowl championship
Passionate supporters lit fires (pictured), clambered on top of trucks and up traffic poles after their team defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 in dramatic fashion at US Bank Field in Minneapolis