PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Major professional sports championships in Philadelphia don’t happen often. There have only been seven since the Broad Street Bullies in the mid-70s.
That’s seven in 51 years.
And two of those wins — Eagles Super Bowl LII and LIX — were definitely causes for some creative celebration for Michael Howanski of South Philadelphia and James Knox of Media.
The lifelong friends and Philly sports fans grew up together in Delaware County and put their heads together for those two victories to create something quite unique: "Duct Tape Lombardi" trophies.
“We were joking duct tape is a lot like Philadelphians,” Howanski told KYW Newsradio. “We're built to last, and we're always there when you need it. I think that's a hysterical line and accurate.”
Knox credits himself for the idea of “scaling up,” but says Howanski “built the original prototype that was the scale model that was basically a Nerf ball wrapped in duct tape.”
Howanski says duct tape can be used for anything, and it’s durable, which comes in handy if these replica Lombardi’s are passed around, like on the buses during the Super Bowl parade, or if they get wet.
The first Duct Tape Lombardi — made after the Eagles' first Super Bowl title — is a hollow, less durable, and not as tall version of the giant replica the two made a couple of months ago. That one is eight feet, and it took 20 hours to make between Super Bowl Sunday and the Friday parade. Howanski accounted for 10 hours, Knox the other 10 hours, and they used 10 rolls of duct tape — all while having full-time gigs, a wife and two kids.
But it was worth it.
By the second Super Bowl victory, the Eagles coordinated with the two ahead of time to deliver these creations before the parade, as opposed to the first time, where the team was unaware of Duct Tape Lombardi 1.0 and just happened to grab it from them during the Super Bowl LII parade.
“So the reaction from the team, that meant a lot,” said Knox. “So for them to actually reach out to us and say, 'Hey, are you guys doing it again?' that kinda kept us going just as much as my son saying, 'Are you guys gonna build another one?'”
That’s how much these teams mean to these fans. Howanski says they know Philadelphia professional sports is only a large collection of games, but at the same time, it’s a community.
To hear their full story, check out this week’s edition of KYW Newsradio’s Philadelphia Sports Fans of the Week.