A rivalry has been renewed as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game on Sunday. Ahead of the game, the famous Rocky statue in downtown Philadelphia was dressed in gear representing the Commanders’ former identity, the Redskins. The culprit behind the vandalism is unknown, but it’s become a tradition in recent years for the statue to be dressed in opposing teams’ gear ahead of big Eagles playoff games.
The Eagles have come away with wins every time the statue has been dressed in opposing gear. In 2022, the statue was dressed in New York Giants gear ahead of their matchup against the Eagles, and the Eagles won 38-7. The following week, the statue was dressed in San Francisco 49ers gear before the Niners arrived in Philadelphia, and the Eagles won 31-7.
The vandalism even occurred when the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in the 2017 season. Ahead of the NFC championship game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, the statue was draped in a Vikings jersey, and the Eagles won 38-7. Before the Super Bowl, someone placed a New England Patriots jersey on the statue, and the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 to claim their first Super Bowl title.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pleaded with his own fan base not to dress the statue in any Chiefs gear ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl, saying “Chiefs, do not touch the f—ing Rocky memorial! Do not do that and definitely don’t put an No. 87 on it!”
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce theorized that the culprit is an Eagles fan, saying “I think somebody from Philadelphia is doing this now. I don’t think this is an opposing team thing at this point. There’s no way opposing teams continue to do this. I’m convinced there is a Philadelphia fan who is putting these shirts on the Rocky statue just to get everyone fired up, and it’s working tremendously.”
Now, Washington is up, and will look to break the trend. The 2024 season was the first since 2005 that Washington won a playoff game, and the first since 1991 that the franchise reached the conference championship.
