By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
The Eagles season ended on a major mistake as Alshon Jeffery missed an open pass and tipped it into the arms of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore. In many ways, it was similar to the “mistake” made by Cody Parkey that clinched the Eagles win in the wild card round.
There was one major difference, however – the fans.
While Bears fans flooded social media with death threats and wishes of harm for their kicker, the City of Brotherly Love lifted up their star wide receiver. Sure, there were some who were upset with Alshon, but the vast majority of the fanbase shared an outpouring of support for Jeffery.
That love did not go unnoticed. On Thursday, the receiver decided to visit the class of the young girl from West Chester Area School District who sent him the letter shared by the Sunday Night Football on NBC twitter page.
After the @eagles season ended with a dropped ball from Alshon Jeffrey, 8-year-old Abigail wrote him the sweetest letter of encouragement ❤️ (via @RaymondJ17) pic.twitter.com/4kkN0bjYHc
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 17, 2019
Jamie Apody of 6abc news shared her own video of the class on Twitter, showing the children’s reactions to the Eagles star entering the second-graders’ classroom to meet them.
MUST WATCH: Alshon Jeffery @TheWorldof_AJ surprises the 2nd graders from West Chester who wrote him letters of encouragement after the @Eagles loss to the Saints. Such a special moment – we told them we were trying to FaceTime him 😂#FlyEaglesFly#Eagles@6abc pic.twitter.com/WYgpPKb6VZ
— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) January 17, 2019
It is hard to imagine such a scenario unfolding in such a positive manner just a few short years ago. While the fans in Philadelphia have always embraced their team, they have not always been known for the positivity and optimism that they have displayed following the tough loss to the Saints in the divisional round.
Perhaps that locker room culture that coach Doug Pederson has instilled in the team has begun to affect the fans and media of our great city, as well as it has the players and coaches.