A rivalry has been renewed.
Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game between the Eagles and the visiting Washington Commanders Sunday.
Ahead of the game, the famous Rocky statue in downtown Philadelphia was dressed in gear 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 ahead of big Eagles playoff games. Each time its happened, the Eagles have come away with wins.
In 2022, the statue was dressed in New York Giants gear ahead of 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 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 dressed in opposing teams’ gear.
Ahead of that season’s 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.
The vandalism became so frequent that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pleaded with his own fan base not to do dress the statue in any Chiefs gear ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl. The Chiefs won that game 38-35.
“Chiefs, do not touch the f—ing Rocky memorial!” Kelce said during a February 2023 episode of his podcast, “New Heights.”
“Do not do that and definitely don’t put an No. 87 on it!”
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who played against Travis and the Chiefs in that game, theorized the culprit was an Eagles fan.
“I’m gonna be honest. I think somebody from Philadelphia is doing this now,” Jason Kelce said.
“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.
“So, keep doing it. I guarantee it. There’s no way. Because it’s happened every single game. The Giants did it. The 49ers did it. There will probably be a Chiefs jersey on it this week.”
Now, Washington is up, 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.
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