PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — "Fly Eagles Fly" is so ingrained in the hearts of Philly sports fans that it seems like it's been around forever. But the Eagles fight song was only born in 1995 when Eagles Pep Band founder Bobby Mansure and alto sax player Brian Saunders reworked a little-known five-minute composition from the 1950s called “The Eagles Victory Song.”
Saunders says the result was a peppy 30-second version.
"We got together and we came up with an idea to put some words and to change the words that actually were in the song itself,” he said, “and that's when we actually branded 'Fly Eagles Fly.'"
They added the "E-A-G-L-E-S" at the end in the studio and then went tailgate to tailgate to teach fans the new lyrics.
"I think we made a mark,” Mansure said, “but also, collectively, so did the fans because if they didn't sing it, we wouldn't be doing it."
Of course, now, the team plays the fight song after every touchdown at Lincoln Financial Field.
"Once it took off, we just looked at each other, like, 'You know what? There's something special here. This is really cool,’” said Saunders, who is still pinching himself after all these years.
"What a thrill to hear the recording that we put together and the words that we put together. It's amazing."
The song is sure to be everywhere this weekend as the Eagles take on the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s Wild Card game at the Linc. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.