New Eagles mural finished just in time for Super Bowl LVII

“Can I keep painting?” Meg Saligman excitedly asked WHYY News on Wednesday evening as she was spotted painting a new mural for the upcoming Super Bowl on the corner of South 5th and South streets.

Saligman is a Philadelphia muralist and has been creating masterpieces all around the city for over 25 years. You may remember her from 2018 when her original mural went viral.

If you don’t remember what the original mural looked like, it was a giant bald eagle gripping Tom Brady with its talons. That mural was displayed on the 800 block of Bainbridge Street.

After the 2018 Super Bowl victory it was then repainted with the bald eagle grasping the Lombardi Trophy.

Wednesday evening, Saligman had the biggest smile as people walked past her on their way home and admired her new mural.

This year, though, the mural is looking a bit different — Saligman decided to capture two people.

The giant Eagles mural that the city has come to know and love will be gripping Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, while coach Andy Reid is caught in the eagle’s wings with a sign that says “HELP” in big, green letters.

“I love the Eagles, and I do this for fun, I think I do it because it’s a Philly thing, murals are a Philly thing, the Eagles are a Philly thing, and I love standing out on the street painting,” Saligman said. “It’s such a feel-good, a win-win.”

Amanda Simon, a Queen Village resident, was driving home when she passed by the mural, and had to stop her car to investigate the scene.

“I needed to walk down and come see it,” Simon told WHYY News. “Just having the excitement for the Eagles, Philly pride, and the fact that we are the city of murals. It’s a really awesome thing, it’s so cool that we have people like Meg who bring this to us. Honestly, I love it, it gives me such an obvious thrill.”

Saligman explained that she thought about not painting the mural this year, but then had a change of heart.

She told WHYY News she is an extremely superstitious person. She even wears the same pajama pants every game night.

“I thought, jeez, I did it last time and we won, let’s do this year’s version of it and try to stay harking back to the old one but make it slightly new,” Saligman said.

Saligman designed this new mural on the computer and is in the process of free-hand painting with the help of a grid outline on the wall in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The mural brings joy to everyone who passes by and for residents like Simon, it brings a contagious excitement.

“I think the fact that everyone ran to Broad Street as if we had already won the Super Bowl that night just shows our pride. And I think that people have been bursting at the seams at this amazing season,” said Simon.

“I think that they have every little ounce of momentum from the people of this city pushing them to a win on Sunday,” Simon said, and then pointed towards Saligman. “This brings it all home.”