NEW ORLEANS — Monday’s media night at the Superdome delivered its cacophonous maelstrom as advertised, but none of it bothered Eagles owner Jeff Lurie. For over an hour, he sat on a chair atop the turf his team will play on in five days and spoke to reporters. It was tough to hear him, and the scrum was largely made up of Philly reporters peppering Lurie with football questions.
But Lurie did make some business news by describing himself as uninterested in buying the for-sale Boston Celtics, a team he had been rumored to want.
“I’m not really interested in acquiring another sports team,” he said. “I think it’s connected because, you know, they’re, they were my childhood team.”
I wouldn’t exactly describe the following as a stadium controversy, but he said the lease on Lincoln Financial Field expires in 2032, and the team will need to either renovate or build a new stadium.
“We’re starting to talk all about it and think about what our options are,” he said. Add the Eagles to the list of stadium-covetous teams.
A reporter asked him about portrayals of the Chiefs and Eagles as villains, which seemed to confuse Lurie.
“I don’t see it that way,” he said. “I just see it as two extremely well-coached, talented teams that have made it this far as two years ago, and it’s phenomenal for the NFL. And there’s no—I don’t find there’s a villain aspect.”
During the first Trump administration, many teams declined to make the trip, including the 2018 Super Bowl champion Eagles. However, the Florida Panthers visited the White House earlier on Monday.
With that in mind, I asked Lurie: if he wins Sunday, will the team go to the White House? Lurie laughed and started walking away, before turning and adding that he’s only focused on Sunday.
