The Eagles’ Super Bowl berth means that we really shouldn’t be at school on the Monday after the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles are making their third Super Bowl appearance in 52 tries. Of the two in which they’ve already, they’ve lost to the Raiders in 1980, and the 2005 Patriots team led by…Tom Brady and Belichick.
Obviously, it’s a big deal, and the city is deservedly excited. That excitement means that everyone is focused on February 4 and what happens at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. As a result, nobody on February 5 is going to care about anything other than what happens during the Super Bowl.
As a school with a student population that is made up of boys ranging in age from 11-18, Malvern’s student body is more sports-focused than most other schools’, both in terms of how many students play sports and how closely they follow college or professional teams.
When you add in the fact that the Eagles are by far the area’s most popular sports team at any level or in any sport, people tend to pay a lot of attention to them, especially teenage boys.
We all saw what happened in Philadelphia on the night of the NFC Championship after the game: Driving on dune buggies up the Art Museum steps, sitting on moving cars, climbing street light poles, and even running into subway poles were just some of the ways Philadelphia fans celebrated the win.
https://twitter.com/LacesOutShow/status/955297657509072896
looks like they forgot to grease one of the poles in Philly 🤦
(via @nms_789) pic.twitter.com/pa5SY4Xpab
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 22, 2018
That’s not to say that Malvern students will be celebrating an Eagles Super Bowl victory by driving cars into the middle of campus and climbing light poles around the ring road, but the fact is that people get really energized over sports.
On the Monday following the NFC Championship, students and faculty alike were deservedly fired up over a Super Bowl berth. The previous night’s game overshadowed anything that was going on in school. Students’ attention to schoolwork certainly fell by the wayside with football conversation replacing it.
That same disregard for anything going on in school will certainly happen again, but with the amplified effect of the Super Bowl. Everyone will be watching on Sunday night, and if the Eagles win, it will be the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl victory. Regardless of whether the Eagles win or lose, football will take precedence in everyone’s mind on the following Monday, whether or not we all want to admit it or want it to happen.
The night of Sunday, February 4 will be one characterized by a lack of sleep, either due to a crushing loss or rapturous celebrations. As a result, a Monday, February 5 spent with a school day will be a day characterized by a total lack of productivity and focus on any sort of academic activities.
The best way to handle this day is to designate it as a day off altogether. If Super Bowl 52 is the Eagles’ first win, there’s no way anyone wants to cut their celebrations short because they have to be up bright and early to come in on a Monday. Conversely, if it’s the Eagles’ third loss, nobody is going to be able to or want to sit in a classroom or office for six and a half hours and focus on school.
Having Monday, February 5 off isn’t just a wise decision. It’s a necessity.
Fly Eagles Fly.
