C-H-A-M-P-S! We're the 2025 Super Bowl champs.

The big picture: Philly made "Blow the Whistle" its anthem this season. And when the final one blew Sunday, the Eagles had secured their second Lombardi Trophy.

Driving the news: The Eagles dominated Kansas City 40-22 in New Orleans, avenging their 2023 Super Bowl loss and stopping the Chiefs from a historic three-peat.

• Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was named MVP after tossing for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He added another 72 rushing yards and a TD.
• It was redemption for Hurts, who shouldered much of the regular-season blame whenever the Eagles struggled passing.

Thousands of elated fans, celebrating their first championship since 2018, took over Broad Street, the epicenter of Philly fandom.

• Police kept a heavy presence in the area, while fans climbed light poles, trees, SEPTA station structures and trucks used to block off traffic.

Catch up quick: The Eagles' vaunted defense clamped down on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, sacking him a career-high six times in the game and staking the Birds to a 24-0 halftime lead.

• Eagles rookie Cooper DeJean's pick-six (on his and Saquon Barkley's birthday, no less) gave Philly a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. It felt like a knockout blow.

The wobbled defending champs never recovered.

• Hurts hit wide receiver DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard TD one play after the Eagles came up with a huge fourth-down stop of the Chiefs midway through the third quarter.

From that point, the game turned into an extended coronation for Philly.

• The Superdome sounded more like the Linc as fans raucously sang "Fly, Eagles, Fly!" and correctly chanted "E-A-G-L-E-S. Eagles!" after each score.
• A.J. Brown and Smith doused head coach Nick Sirianni with the proverbial Gatorade bath with 2:53 left in the game.

"Eagles fly in Super Bowl 59," Fox sports play-by-play commentator Kevin Burkhardt exclaimed when the game ended.

• "Big Easy," the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote.

Zoom out: The entire city was glowing green this weekend, with fans shouting their Eagles pride, waving flags, painting their front lawns, and, of course, tailgating.

• In the burbs, pop-up stands sold Birds merch at gas stations. Some fans even visited the graves of their loved ones to mark the moment.
• In New Orleans, celebs showed out, including the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Abbott Elementary" casts, Bradley Cooper, Miles Teller and Pete Davidson. "Philly girl" and former first lady Jill Biden was there too.
• The states' governors and operas exchanged bets. Get that BBQ sauce ready, Gov. Kehoe! Prime your voices, Lyric Opera.
• And as soon as the game ended, the Philly region's skies lit up with fireworks.

What they're saying: Eagles fans Stetson Zigler and his wife, Ashley, celebrated with their kids on South Broad Street.

• "There's no other city that celebrates like we do," Ashley told Axios.

Among the revelry, Dillon Snyder marked the occasion by getting on one knee and proposing to his girlfriend, Ellen Confer.

• "I was looking for an excuse to do it," he told Axios. "There was no more public or embarrassing place I could have possibly done it than tonight."

The bottom line: "This is the ultimate team game," Sirianni, donning a championship hat, said during a postgame interview. "You can't be great without the greatness of others."

What's ahead: A championship parade.

• "See ya Friday," the Eagles posted on X.

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Relive the highlights:

⚓ The SS United States' planned departure from its South Philly dock was delayed over the weekend — again. The ship, which is poised to become part of an artificial reef in Florida, was supposed to leave months ago. The latest delay stems from a Coast Guard request for more info. (NBC)

💰 Mayor Cherelle Parker wants to earmark $40 million for the United States' 250th anniversary bash in 2026, while Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing another $65 million from state coffers. (Inquirer 🔒)

Some West Chester University students are outraged that the school hired a company that provides "AI pre-recorded name announcements" for graduation ceremonies.

Why it matters: Universities are under immense pressure to ensure their students' big day goes smoothly. Just last year, Philly's Thomas Jefferson University went viral after a graduation announcer botched multiple students' names.

• Proponents say artificial intelligence can greatly reduce human error. But some say it's those fumbling humans that give the moment its meaning.

Driving the news: Senior Elisa Magello is petitioning the Pennsylvania school to reconsider its decision to use AI-generated commencement announcers.

• Magello wants WCU to return to using human announcers who "will rightfully appreciate" students' accomplishments.
• "Let's add empathy and personalization to technology rather than substituting it entirely," she wrote.

State of play: The school hired the company Tassel (formerly MarchingOrder) last year to provide pre-recorded name announcements for commencements, Jeffery Osgood Jr., the school's executive vice president and provost, told Axios.

• The administration decided to use the technology at WCU's fall commencement ceremony in December, after fielding complaints about errors at previous ceremonies, Osgood said.

Between the lines: Osgood says the school believed a human was creating the recordings, not AI.

• While Tassel's website states it uses "AI pre-recorded name announcements," Osgood says the school "never contemplated" that.

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Scientists are baffled by a mysterious condition that seems to be spreading quickly in Philadelphia.

• Symptoms include nausea, dehydration, and a sudden aversion to chicken wings.

🤔 Experts point to "Super Bowl Flu," a condition that could impact 22.6 million employees nationwide, according to the UKG Workforce Institute.

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