A rivalry has been renewed.
Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game between the Eagles and the visiting Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Before the game, the famous rock statue in downtown Philadelphia was dressed in a march representing the commanders’ former identity, the Redskins.
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The culprit is unknown.
Dressing the statue in opposing teams’ gear has become a tradition in recent years before Big Eagles playoff games. Each time it’s happened, the Eagles have come away with wins.
In 2022, the statue was dressed in New York Giants gear prior to their matchup against the Eagles in the divisional round. The Eagles won that game 38-7. The following week, the statue was dressed in San Francisco 49ers gear before the Niners arrived in Philadelphia for the NFC Championship Game. The Eagles won that game, 31-7.
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When the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in the 2017 season, the statue was also decked out in the opposing teams’ gear.
Before that season’s NFC championship game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, the statue was covered on 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.
The vandalism became so prevalent that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pleaded with his own fan base not to dress the statue in any Chiefs gear before the 2023 Super Bowl. The Chiefs won that game 38-35.
“Chiefs, don’t touch the Rocky Memorial fingle!” Kelce said during a February 2023 episode of his podcast, “New Heights.”
“Don’t do that and definitely don’t wear a No. 87!”
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who played against Travis and the Chiefs in that game, theorized that the culprit was an Eagles fan.
“I’m going to be honest. I think someone from Philadelphia is doing this right now,” Jason Kelce said.
“I don’t think this is an opposing team thing right now. There’s no way opposing teams are going to continue doing this. I’m convinced there’s a Philly fan who’s putting these shirts on the rock statue just to make everyone go crazy.” turn it on, and it’s working great.
“So, keep doing it. I guarantee it. There’s no way. Because it happened every game. The Giants did it. The 49ers did it. There will probably be a Chiefs jersey this week.”
Now, Washington is on top and will look to break the trend.
It will be the first time the rivals have met in a conference championship game and marks a high point for a rivalry that has been dormant in recent decades due to Washington’s inability to win in the playoffs since the 1990s.
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.
