Cheering for the Eagles and hating on Trump went hand in hand last night
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People had a hard time last night separating the Eagles' win and their disdain for President Trump.
Remember when the Patriots won last year and it felt like a nauseating continuation of the 2016 election? For many, Super Bowl LII felt like a breath of fresh air. To them, the Philadelphia Eagles' first ever Super Bowl win served as yet another signal that the country might be moving on from the Donald Trump moment we've been in for the past year.
Whether or not it's fair to Patriots fans, the New England team and their five recent Super Bowl wins are mostly loathed by everyone else. And hating Tom Brady is very en vogue.
It's well known that Trump has had a long association with the Patriots. The team's owner Robert Kraft donated $1 million to Trump's campaign, and Coach Bill Belichick wrote a letter endorsing the reality TV star.
And, Trump's basically had a man crush on Brady for years.
Tom Brady is a good friend of mine, a great player, a great guy and a total winner! Fantastic comeback win-this is what our country needs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2013
It's understandable that the two would be conflated and that the majority of the country, who did not vote for Donald Trump, would take this football victory as a win against him.
Obviously, this is just a sports game and indicative of basically nothing.
However, the Eagles underdog win felt to many like yet another example of the growing 2018 Trump backlash. As of right now, three Republican senators and 34 House representatives have decided not to run for reelection. On top of that, there are a record numbers of women and people of color running for office. Meanwhile, the Mueller investigation seems to be gathering more and more damaging evidence that could implicate Trump's campaign and maybe the president himself.
While his approval rating can't get out of the 30s, and he continues to attack everyone around him, this symbolic blow to the team that he has openly loved, and the team that has openly loved him, felt like justice to many, many people.
Look who won, Donald Trump:
The Eagles. It's a sign. This bird knows. Your days are numbered. #SuperBowl2018 pic.twitter.com/O3V0Z0zjNP— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) February 5, 2018
All the same, the sentiment makes no rational sense. Why would a team losing the Super Bowl spell doom for Trump? The correlation isn't actually there. But that didn't stop anyone on the internet from getting a lot of satisfaction from the whole thing.
Tomorrow expect Trump to blame the FBI and Hillary Clinton for his Patriots losing #SuperBowl
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) February 5, 2018
Remember Tom Brady voted for Trump. He deserves this L. Congrats Eagles. pic.twitter.com/NBClAAfrBT
— The Extraordinary Xilla (@BlogXilla) February 5, 2018
Philly winning also feels like a win against Trump! Since Robert Kraft is his boy and Brady is a supporter. The Cheatriots couldn’t buy this ring! Oh and #FreeMeek! #AgainstALLInjustice! #Eagles 🦅🦅🦅
— Keith (@bkj721) February 5, 2018
PATRIOTS:
Quarterback is a “good friend” of Trump.
Coach said Trump’s “leadership is amazing.”
Owner gave Trump a Super Bowl ring (and another one to Putin!).
EAGLES: pic.twitter.com/HedMvWPgqi— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) February 2, 2018
The eagles had the lord on their side. While the pats had....trump....so there’s that lmao
— Kaela D. Wade (@KaelaDWade) February 5, 2018
May all things associated with Trump meet that sack of Brady in the fourth. Congrats Eagles.
— Mark Millien (@Mark_Millien) February 5, 2018
I don’t want to read too much into the Eagles’ win but I believe it signals the end of the Trump era plus a cure for back pain and that every writer gets a lucrative book deal always.
— Victor LaValle (@victorlavalle) February 5, 2018
Trump: “Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles. Would you like to come to the Whitehouse?
Eagles: pic.twitter.com/wBN3NcsWwW— Ken McGraw (@KenMcGraw) February 5, 2018
The entire sentiment only goes to show how partisanship has shaped the country's allegiances and spun it off into weird corners.
But, either way, it's probably safe to say that a majority of the country had a good night last night.