Evidently, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t the only NFL team in the city with a large following.
On Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs squared off in Super Bowl LIX down at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Chiefs were looking to defend their title and become the first team in league history to win The Big Game three times in a row, while the Eagles looked to avenge their loss to them two years prior in Super Bowl LVII.
What ensued was one of the most one-sided and stifling performances in Super Bowl history, as Philadelphia routed Kansas City by a score of 40-22. That score doesn’t tell the entire story either, as the Chiefs put up 16 points in the final three minutes with the game well out of reach.
Students at the University of Pittsburgh took to the streets to celebrate the Eagles’ victory, creating quite the scene in the city’s Oakland neighborhood.
Pitt has plenty of students hailing from eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia area, so it comes as no surprise that the Eagles have cultivated such a strong fan base at the school.
A large piece of the puzzle is the fact that former Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett is now on the Eagles and won his first ring, perhaps providing an extra incentive for fans to celebrate.
Pickett drew a similar bash when he led the school to its first-ever ACC Championship back in 2021 during his final year of eligibility before declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft and being selected by the Steelers in the first round at No. 20 overall.
His career with the organization went awry, however. Pickett appeared in 25 games for the team across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns and threw for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while never truly playing up to the level of a franchise quarterback.
After Pittsburgh signed Russell Wilson to a one-year deal last offseason, it shipped Pickett off to the Eagles alongside a 2024 fourth-round pick in exchange for a 2024 third-rounder and two 2025 seventh-rounders.
Pickett grew up a Philadelphia fan in Oakhurst, New Jersey, so it was the perfect landing spot for him and a much-needed change of scenery.
He saw the field for parts of five regular season contests and threw for 291 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while backing up Jalen Hurts.
Pickett’s only contribution during the playoffs was kneeling the ball at the end of the Eagles’ NFC Championship Game victory over the Washington Commanders, but he’s a champion nonetheless.
The Steelers will look to get back to the Super Bowl themselves next season after not winning a postseason game in eight years or reaching The Big Game since the 2010 campaign.
