The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles were introduced to both fans and members of the media Monday night at the Xcel Energy Center during the the Super Bowl LII Opening Night event.
Both teams were introduced separately on the main stage before players were allowed to freely roam the floor and answer questions from a plethora of news and media outlets.
Most fans in attendance were Vikings supporters, and they made themselves heard; cascades of boos and jeers were heard throughout the stadium as the Eagles were introduced. The Eagles defeated the Vikings in stunning fashion last week, putting up 38 points on the league’s best total defense in the NFC Championship.
“They’re still not quite over last week,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said during an interview. “Hopefully their tune changes and they might actually root for us.”
Each team was given one hour on the floor. 11 players were stationed at podiums lined up toward the front of the arena, with the rest of the players free to walk around the floor.
Fans in attendance were given personal FM radio receivers that were connected to eight different broadcast channels. Six of the eight channels featured an interview at one of the podiums, with the other two dedicated to the NFL Network broadcast of the event and the stadium PA system.
The Patriots were introduced first with star quarterback Tom Brady taking the lead. Heading into his league-record eighth Super Bowl, the 18-year veteran said this Super Bowl may be one of the toughest matches he’s faced.
“There are no such things as underdogs in the Super Bowl. They’re as dangerous as anyone out there,” Brady said of the Eagles. “They’ve got some of the best linemen in the league … their linebackers are super athletic. They’re not going to give us anything.”
Despite Brady’s claim, the Eagles have embraced the role of underdogs. Since losing starting quarterback Carson Wentz to a torn ACL and LCL in Week 14, Philadelphia entered most of its games projected to lose by Vegas oddsmakers. Even after making the playoffs as the No. 1 seeded team in the NFC, the Eagles were one and three-point underdogs in the divisional round and conference championship.
“We’ve had a chip on our shoulder all year … we’re excited to be here,” Ertz said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but hopefully we get more and more as this team progresses.”
Backup quarterback Nick Foles is in his second stint with the team, and after a career performance in the NFC Championship, the Arizona product said he’s feeling confident heading into Sunday’s showdown.
“We have a great team. If we play Philadelphia Eagle football … we’ve got a great team,” Foles said. “To beat the Patriots would be amazing.”
Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu