Philadelphia was a sea of midnight green on Thursday as millions of fans lived their dream of celebrating the Eagles’ first Super Bowl championship. The 5-mile-long, promo-filled parade ran from outside Lincoln Financial Field up along Broad Street, culminating at the same art museum steps the city’s original underdog made famous over 40 years ago.

Fans from all over the country made the pilgrimage to the historic event – many from New Jersey walked across the nearly 2-mile-long Benjamin Franklin Bridge just to get into Philadelphia. Becky Pendrak and her husband came from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, renting a limousine service for the 2-hour ride. “It’s a fun celebration,” she said. “I’m so happy for Nick Foles that he had such a phenomenal playoff season. I’m on all these fan sites, and right after they lost to Dallas, a lot of people were putting him down. So he earned this.”

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Pendrak, and just about everybody else, was sporting Eagles apparel. With temperatures hovering in the low 30s, attendees bundled up in logoed hoodies, jackets, scarves, gloves and even pajama bottoms. T-shirt vendors walked along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway selling a variety of “world champions” designs to patrons donning jerseys ranging from current players to recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Brian Dawkins. There were also logoed blankets, rally towels, flags, pennants, tents and of course, dog masks.

Brian Buchter of Northeast Philly worked in the Eagles merchandise department for almost five years, spending many a Sunday helping fans grab their favorite gear. “I feel like I’m a bad luck charm because they won it all the year I wasn’t there,” Buchter laughed.

As several players took the podium, thanking their passionate fans for supporting them over the years through injuries and personnel changes, Eagles center Jason Kelce stole the show. Dressed in an elaborate, sparkly Mummers costume (a New Year’s Day tradition in Philly), Kelce delivered a fiery, profanity-laced rant with the gusto of Stone Cold Steve Austin. “It was absolutely crazy,” said Bensalem native Mike Gabrieli, who slept underneath his desk in his Center City office building to guarantee he’d avoid the traffic. “Everybody was pouring in by the time I walked outside at 5:30 a.m.,” he said. “You could tell it was going to be one of the best days and it was.”

Despite the rowdy reputation of Eagles fans, there couldn’t be a party in the City of Brotherly Love without a little modern romance. Freelance writer Shamus Clancy tweeted the iconic World War II photo of a sailor kissing a dental nurse in Times Square with the caption “me and your girl on Broad Street.” Ashley Suder, a licensing and marketing assistant in Philadelphia, just happened to see the tweet, responding “if you’re looking for a girl to recreate this during the parade I’m here for it.” Clancy’s DMs were open, and the total strangers recreated history.

The joyous occasion was bittersweet for some fans who couldn’t share the day with their deceased loved ones. Several folks paid tribute to their friends and family by spreading their ashes at the parade. Bob Ference Jr. of Honey Brook, PA, brought a sign of his oldest son Robert’s funeral card. A loyal fan who watched the Eagles’ previous NFC Championship victory with his dad, Robert died in a motorcycle accident in 2014.

So Bob brought the sign, cremation jewelry and his grandson to the Rocky Steps. “It’s the best I can do,” he said. “For me, he’s here and he’s watching.”