REPORT: Vikings Set to Watch Eagles Hoist Championship Banner for a Super Bowl We Won in Their Stadium

In the most fitting way possible, the Eagles seem to be slated to open their defending champion campaign on Thursday night, September 6th against the Minnesota Vikings in primetime. Following NFL tradition, the team that wins the Super Bowl hosts the opening ceremony of the next football season by raising their championship banner on the Thursday night before the first Sunday full of games. If you forgot, the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year.



The report was broken by Philly’s own Howard Eskin:

Please forgive me if I take his report with a grain of salt. Is Dario coming over yet? #LandthePlane

Image result for howard eskin dario tweets

Even so, the match-up does make a lot of sense for the NFL. Since this is the kickoff of a new year, the game has to feature two teams that can stir a ratings bonanza. Given that this match-up was the NFC Championship game last season, it’s clear that these two teams will be contenders once again. That certainly isn’t where the storylines stop in this one. The Vikings made the biggest free agency signing in recent memory, if not ever, by luring Kirk Cousins to Minnesota to the tune of $85 million guaranteed (Sidebar: the amount of money we are going to have to give Carson Wentz because of this is mind-boggling). Adding a quarterback of Cousins’ caliber who has stymied the Eagles in years past is sure to attract some eyeballs. Throw that in a pot with the fact the Eagles absolutely slaughtered the Vikings en route to winning our first Super Bowl IN MINNEAPOLIS and you’ve stirred up the greatest opening night intrigue the league has seen in quite some time.

So, just to recap how pathetic the Minnesota Vikings are as a franchise. They lost the NFC Championship Game to the Eagles by surrendering 38 unanswered points to end their season. We went to Minneapolis to play at U.S. Bank Stadium, their home stadium, and laid claim to our first ever Super Bowl victory. Now, we begin the next season with the Vikings returning to Lincoln Financial Field, the scene where their season embarrassingly concluded, so that they can watch us hoist a Super Bowl Champion banner…for a Super Bowl we won at their stadium. No wonder their fans hate us.

Look, there is a lot of potential marquee match-ups on our schedule this upcoming year that would seem logical to be played on Opening Night. The road to repeating definitely seems difficult when giving our opponents the eye test. The Atlanta Falcons would fall in the same revenge category as the Vikings and would be a great opening night suitor (I still get anxiety thinking what would’ve happened if Julio doesn’t fall down). The Panthers were a hell of a match-up a year ago as well as a Playoff team. Even the Cowboys in a rivalry game would be great. But, playing host to the Vikings in this scenario is just too perfect. For a league having a ratings crisis, on behalf of these two teams I’d like to tell the NFL, “you’re welcome”.

It’s hard to explain how the two enemies and rivals of this city became the Minnesota Vikings and the Oklahoma City Thunder but it doesn’t have to make sense, it just happens. That’s the beauty of sports fandom in Philadelphia.

By Aidan Powers | March 19, 2018