Philadelphia Eagles

Today is #SuperBowlLIX and as a one-off special, let's #GetTheBadgeIn for the teams involved. Playing in New Orleans, the Philadelphia @Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in three years. It was a close game last time (38-35 to the Chiefs), and Kansas City are keen to add a 4th Super Bowl title to their recent incredible run. But don’t count out the Eagles just yet—they’re ready to soar.

So, let’s start with the Philadelphia Eagles. Is their name as simple as Eagles are fast, aggressive, and look cool? Yes. But also no. See, the Eagles icon was chosen by the founders, Bert Bell and Lud Wray, because, at that time, there was a different eagle inspiring local people—the National Recovery Administration (NRA).

Back in the 30s, the USA, under President Roosevelt, was pulling all the federal levers of government it had to help the country recover from the Great Depression. This wasn’t some crazy scheme dreamt up by a deep-state cabal of conspiracy theorists but an honest attempt to improve people’s lives. The economic shock had seen millions lose savings, homes, and jobs. Exports had slumped, and prices were skyrocketing. It was a bad time.

So in stepped the NRA. It set out codes of conduct for employment, set minimum wages, and gave unions a greater say in bargaining for increased rights for their members. Companies that adhered to the code got to display a blue eagle badge on their premises and advertising. The government ran a campaign encouraging people to frequent the eagle-clad businesses as a way of helping their fellow Americans.

In the middle of this gloom, Bell and Wray led a buyout of the bankrupt NFL team, the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets. They secured the right to a slot in the league and decided to enter with a new team—the Eagles—and to adopt the Eagle symbol in the process.

Bell was a long-time football player and coach who had an eye for what fair competition looked like. Later in his career, he became the NFL commissioner and introduced the NFL Draft, giving the worst teams from the season before the first picks of the new talent coming out of the college system. This drafting process has kept the league competitive and has avoided the game being dominated by teams backed by billionaire owners. It also, in my opinion, makes the achievements of teams like the Chiefs and the New England Patriots even more remarkable. They won title after title without continuously buying in fresh superstars but by nurturing and integrating talent into their teams.

Bell had an eye for keeping things fair—which surely explains his fondness for the NRA Eagle.

And there you have it—far from being just a cool name, the Philadelphia Eagles are rooted in a symbol of hope and recovery. Fly Eagles Fly.