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Mayor of Minneapolis 'welcomes' Eagles fans to Super Bowl with a public jab

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Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey is also an accomplished athlete. He competed in the 2007 Pan American Games as a marathon runner and finished in fourth place.

So he feels right at home around big sporting events, and this weekend his city is hosting the biggest event in the country, Super Bowl LII.

Frey is also aware of the reputation of sports fans, and particularly Eagles fans. It seems as if half of Philadelphia is descending upon Minneapolis for the Super Bowl and Frey gave a personalized video welcome to those in town for the big game.


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He started off by detailing the great attractions of the city, including its lakes and the historic Stone Arch Bridge.

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He then said that Minneapolitans embrace the weather, no matter how cold it’s outside. For the record, Super Bowl Sunday is projected to have a high of 10 degrees and a low of 0.

Frey then addressed the fans of the Patriots and Eagles, and with the latter is when pleasantries came to an end.

“A big welcome to all the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles fans,” Frey says. “For Eagles fans, don’t worry. We’re going to be greasing all the lamp posts, so you can feel right at home.”

Frey is of course taking a friendly jab at Eagles fans after the city of Philadelphia had to grease its lamp posts prior to the NFC championship game against his city’s Vikings to prevent fans from climbing the poles in a postgame celebration.

Just when it appeared as if the video was over, Frey, in an “outtake,” looks off-camera and shouts, “Are we seriously welcoming the f—ing Eagles fans?”

Eagles fans are perhaps the most notorious fan base in the NFL and the need for greased lamp posts is just part of their lore.

But they will forever hold a not-so-special place in the hearts of Minnesotans after some Vikings fans claimed that Philly fans threw beer cans and other items at them as they made their way into Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for the NFC title game.

Of course, Frey is also a little salty that the Eagles prevented the Vikings from becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl in its own stadium. The Vikings were actually the first team to even advance to the conference championship game in a season in which its stadium was hosting the Super Bowl.

Frey has likely seen Eagles fans up close and has first-hand knowledge of their behavior. He is a native of Washington D.C. and went to law school at Villanova, which is in Philadelphia.

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On Tuesday Frey appeared on the Rich Eisen Show and he addressed if there would be any hard feelings from Minnesotans regarding any past unfavorable interactions between Vikings fans and Eagles fans.

“I would agree with the home-team spirit to the extent there were some hard feelings,” Frey said. “I get it, but we value sportsmanship here in Minneapolis so we’re welcoming everybody, whether you’re from New England, or Philadelphia or Tampa Bay.”

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Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009.
Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009 and previously worked for ESPN, CBS and STATS Inc. A native of Louisiana, Ross now resides in Houston.
Location
Houston, Texas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Sports




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