“The Philly Special” aired on ESPN on Friday night.
While Super Bowl Week is typically underwhelming when you’re not a fan of one of the two teams in the Big Game, Friday night provided some entertainment aimed right at the Delaware Valley. ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 documentary The Philly Special aired on the network and gave a look at the 2017 Eagles, the most famous play in the history of Philadelphia sports and five central figures to it all: Doug Pederson, Nick Foles, Jason Kelce, Corey Clement and Trey Burton.
I’ve seen every football, baseball and basketball 30 for 30. I believe the quality has dipped over the years for the series overall, but The Philly Special was, well, special. Am I biased? Sure, to a degree that I lived through this time just as millions of other Eagles fans did, but that also means I was coming into this a bit guarded. You can’t mess this up! I was expecting it to be just OK, but as the hour-long documentary progressed, I certainly shed a few tears remembering what that team and what that play mean for this city.
The opening of The Philly Special was a little kitschy and made me wary that I was about to watch something that didn’t full grasp the catharsis the 2017 Eagles brought everyone from around here, but those fears proved unfounded. Co-directors Shannon Furman and Angela Zender walked a fine line and did so well. There’s an inherent silliness to Philadelphia that is only matched but its berserk passion, especially when it comes to the Birds. Whether the doc was focusing five Philly Specialists, the intricacies that went into that play or the impact that Super Bowl victory had on Eagles fans far and wide, it made for an engrossing watch.
There’s not much in the way of new information for hardcore Eagles fans, as this stands more so as a great way to dive deep into the nostalgia of what made the winer of 2018 such a wonderful time to be alive, but there was one thing I did find curious. According to Foles, the first rendering of the Foles-Pederson Philly Special statue featured Carson Wentz on the lower half and Foles’ upper body. The official 30 for 30 social media account even posted a clip of it:
That’s pretty bizarre given how the respective standing of each player in Philly changed once that statue was unveiled and the 2018 season commenced, but such is the story of Foles’ life.
Anyway, if you’re not thrilled with this weekend’s football viewing options, go back and relieve the magic of Super Bowl LII with this documentary!
As for where to stream after it aired, it looks like it’s on ESPN’s website and app if you have an ESPN Unlimited subscription. Additionally, as a Disney+/Hulu/ESPN Select bundle subscriber, I’m able to watch it on Disney+, so if you’re in that boat as well, that could be an option for you.
Category: General Sports
