Eagles Super Bowl parade: Likely Thursday, Philadelphia mayor says

Looking for information about the parade celebrating the Eagle's first Super Bowl win? You'll have to wait.

During an appearance on 94.1 WIP Monday morning, Mayor Jim Kenney said the Eagles parade would likely take place on Thursday, but cautioned that details haven't been finalized. The current weather forecast calls for rain in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

>> UPDATE: City officials have confirmed that the parade will take place Thursday, Feb. 8

Following the Eagles' thrilling 41-33 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII, Philadelphia officials announced earlier that details about the parade wouldn't be released until sometime Monday.

After the game concluded, Kenney issued a statement congratulating the Eagles and thanking the team for winning the hearts of the entire Delaware Valley.

"You are champions, and your accomplishments will forever be part of the rich history of Philadelphia sports," Kenney said.

Kenney also urged excited fans to celebrate in a way that didn't embarrass the city or take away from the team's win.

"We know you have waited years, some for decades, for the chance to crown your Birds as champs," Kenney said. "I urge everyone to celebrate in a way that is safe and respectful to everyone from neighbors to strangers. Go forth and celebrate, but do so in a way that will make Philadelphia shine."

Officials have kept a tight grip on any preliminary plans for a potential parade, including what day and time it might occur. Past parade schedules and speculation suggest the parade will take place on either Wednesday or Thursday.

>> RCAP: Follow along for the latest on fans and football

"No plans right now for a parade — we don't want to jinx it!" Mayor Kenney wrote on Twitter last week. "Our planning right now is focused on public safety surrounding Sunday's game."

>> READ MORE: Why does winning (or losing) make Philly fans go crazy? Consider the history of mayhem

>> YOUR PHOTOS: Readers show off their Super Bowl excitement

There's good reason for keeping the information so heavily guarded. In 2005, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick used the city's preliminary planning as fodder to motivate his team heading into its Super Bowl match-up against the Eagles.

"At first, I couldn't believe it, but it's actually true," Belichick told his players in a team meeting the night before Super Bowl XXXIX. "I'm talking about the Philadelphia parade after the game, all right? It's 11:00 in case any of you want to attend that."

Perhaps having learned their lesson, in 2008 city officials waited until minutes after the Phillies won the World Series to send out preliminary information that included the day, time, and basic route of the celebratory parade. The Phillies won on a Wednesday night, and the city held the parade at noon Friday. That celebration originated at 20th and Market Streets and traveled south down Broad Street from City Hall, ending at the sports complex.

In the event the Eagles win their first Super Bowl, attendance at the parade is expected to be massive. In 2008, media reports pegged the attendance at the Phillies parade at two million, though no official estimate was released by the city.

"We did not establish . . . any official number, " a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter told the Inquirer in 2009. "The two million was floated around, and we've never refuted nor confirmed."

>> READ MORE: Complete Super Bowl coverage

Among those who have said they would be in attendance in the event of an Eagles win is Al Michaels, the longtime play-by-play announcer for NBC's Sunday Night Football, who called Sunday's Super Bowl.

"They can win a Stanley Cup, which they've done. They can win a World Series, which they've done. They can win an NBA championship, and the way they're playing right now, that may be sooner than later with the 76ers," Michaels said in November of Philadelphia's sports teams. "But nothing, nothing, would eclipse the Super Bowl champions and the Lombardi Trophy in the parade down Broad Street. I'm flying in for that one."

NBC sports broadcaster and 2018 Olympics host Mike Tirico responded: "It would be cold, and it would be special."