Saquon Barkley didn’t grow up an Eagles fan. But he grew up around them and close enough to watch them sweat in the late-July heat. He was close enough to see the culture form before he ever put on shoulder pads of his own. He was just a kid from Coplay then, a short 10-minute drive from Lehigh University, where the Eagles held training camp from 1996 to 2012. Long before he became Whitehall High School’s prized prospect or Penn State’s program-changer, Barkley was one of hundreds who showed up to Lehigh in the summer to watch several Eagles’ legends glide.
“Watching from afar, everything that they’re about,” Barkley had said in an interview. “The culture here, the fans here. Definitely got super excited about it. Just happy to be a part of this organization.” And when he came to Philly, the mantra still remained the same. “I just want to win and that’s what it’s about.” And he did win. But what it meant to win in Philadelphia, that didn’t fully register until he was sitting on the museum steps, shoulder to shoulder with Avonte Maddox, watching Broad Street spill over with people.
It wasn’t until the victory parade, weeks after the Super Bowl win over Kansas City, that Barkley fully felt what he’d stepped into. “I think the parade was the best part of it all,” Barkley said on the excitingmics podcast, recalling the moment he finally saw Philadelphia from the top of the world and fully understood the role he now played in it. “I had like a moment when I was with Avonte [Maddox]. And we were sitting on the stairs, and you looked out and you just saw like all the people that came to support. And then you realize, like it’s not just a team. It takes a city. You know what I mean? It takes a whole city. And like, especially this city.“
There was awe in his voice. It almost felt as if the kid who watched those practices back in high school finally understood the part he played in this big picture.
The grandeur of the entire thing overwhelmed Barkley, and it was then that he realised the gravity of the situation. “And like in that moment, you’re like, wow, like, okay, I am a Super Bowl champ. It’s not just for us. This is for everybody,” he said. Reed even added to the moment and said, “everyone gets a ring,” displaying the importance of the supporters in the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.
To understand why Barkley clicked in Philadelphia, you have to understand what was missing in New York. Despite his personal production—two 1,300-yard seasons, highlight runs that made the MetLife turf feel too small—Barkley rarely had help. Coaches rotated. Offensive lines crumbled. And playoff wins? There was one, fleeting, in 2022. More than yards or touches, Barkley was seeking infrastructure. A football culture that wasn’t just built to use stars, but to build with them. That’s what drew him to Philadelphia.
That background may explain why he’s leaned in so quickly to the Eagles’ identity now that he’s finally wearing the uniform. That includes a full endorsement of one of the league’s most divisive plays: the Tush Push.
Saquon Barkley calls Tush Push ban attempts ‘lame’
While talking on the podcast, the Eagles’ teammates discussed a very trending topic. The Tush Push and the NFL’s attempt to ban it. After all, it was a huge thing. Especially for the Philadelphia Eagles, who have used this play as a weapon of sorts and have had great results. Converting 28 of their 34 (82%) Tush Push attempts last season. Even using it during Super Bowl 59 to convert a 1-yard start to a touchdown.
Barkley, while speaking on the banning attempt on the move, said, “The banning thing of it, I think it’s soft, to be honest.” The reason for calling it soft? “‘Cause everybody can do it. It’s not like a play that we only can do, everybody can do it,” Barkley said while emphasising that it was not the Eagles’ fault that the other teams were not able to successfully counter the attack.
Barkley also said that the attempt to ban the play was partly because of the other teams’ inability to execute it perfectly. “It’s not something that everyone can’t do, so them trying to eliminate it, I think that’s kind of lame,” Barkley had said while making sure that he sends a message to everyone who tried to ban it.
The opposing teams and the NFL failed to ban the play, falling short of the two votes needed. The Eagles still are in possession of their strongest weapon, and we’ll have to sit back and watch how they use it in the upcoming season.
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