Earlier this week, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins told The Athletic that he hated the Super Bowl LII sign in the Eagles’ locker room at the NovaCare Complex.
Apparently, Jenkins wasn’t alone.
Because that sucker is coming down as the Eagles get set to start their 2018 season.
Eagles reporter @davespadaro says after meetings with team leaders and Doug Pederson, Super Bowl champs signs in lockeroom will be taken down. They dont want to look at that anymore. Doug listens to his players
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 31, 2018
It’s a new year #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/OQkfBJCIL8
Lane Johnson’s locker in the NovaCare Complex is at the far end of the locker room, pretty much right under the giant Super Bowl LII logo hanging proudly.
He’s happy to see it go.
“I think that’s good,” Johnson said Thursday. “I kind of got annoyed looking at it every day. Hey, we won one. It’s great, it’s terrific for the city, but as far as a new year, I think it’s good to be fresh with our approach.”
You can look at this one of two ways. One, maybe it’s a little concerning that the Eagles could lose focus because of some signage.
But I don’t think of it as a loss of focus. I think the team just wants to make it a point to not rest on its success. It goes back to what Doug Pederson called the “new norm” earlier this offseason. The Eagles aren’t happy with one Super Bowl. They shouldn’t be happy with one Super Bowl.
Removing the signs and the banners is more symbolic. The Eagles want to move on from their Super Bowl season because they know they’re the hunted this year.
Unfortunately, there will be no avoiding it next Thursday night, when the Super Bowl LII banner gets lifted to the rafters.