The indelible image of Chris Long wearing an Allen Iverson throwback jersey at the Super Bowl parade is all you need to know. His affection for Philadelphia runs decades deep.
Long’s legendary father, Howie, starred at Villanova University in the late 1970s. The two were chatting about life on a recent episode of the Green Light podcast when the topic turned to where Chris might choose to retire. You see, he spent eight seasons in St. Louis before moving to New England for one and then Philly for two at the end of his career.
He famously donned that Iverson jersey — it’s been immortalized in mural form — after helping lead the Eagles to the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl championship. The 35-year-old admitted that St. Louis may have been the choice if they still had a team. But, they moved to Los Angeles in 2016 and that opened the door for Long to shower love on Philly.
He also described the difference between Patriots fans and Eagles fans, in a good way. Adam Hermann of NBC Sports Philadelphia transcribed the conversation:
“Honestly I would’ve retired a Ram, but they moved to L.A. I’m not an L.A. Ram. I’m a St. Louis Ram, and to be honest, the team that I most associate with now? Boston, I was there for a year, I loved a lot about that, but I didn’t live in the city, I wasn’t a big part of the community there.”
Pops & I split a mailbag on today’s #GreenLightPod. Our favorite QBs to sack? I knew his answer. He’s always had great respect for division rival @johnelway. Link to a Father’s Day pod in pinned tweet.
He continued: “Fans were super supportive. But I didn’t get to know them the way I knew them in Philly. And a lot of that was geography, putting my head down, I was there for one reason. In Philly, it was like the city just got a hold of me. So if I ever do the official retirement, something, I’ll probably do it as an Eagle.”
@LaneJohnson65 @sixers @Eagles @JOEL9ONE Hungry Dogs!!!
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Long Trolls South Philly Residents for Disgracing Name
Long likes to use his celebrity platform to speak out on important issues, including frequently criticizing President Trump and putting a fist in the air against social injustice. He was one of the first Eagles players to announce he wouldn’t visit the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win.
The former Eagles defensive end recently called out some South Philly residents wielding baseball bats and protecting the Christopher Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza. One guy interviewed was sporting a T-shirt with Long’s likeness in an “Underdog” mask.
The latter was the motto for the Eagles’ championship run during the 2017 season. In a funny Twitter message, he wrote: “Get a new shirt.”
And don’t thank me for tweeting at some asshole who obviously doesn’t give a fuck what I think anyway…. this shit is not fun. This is just twitter… Makes no diff… im just saying
Long’s activism in the City of Brotherly Love is well-documented, too. He donated his entire 2017 base salary (estimated at $1 million) to charity and his first seven paychecks of 2017 to fund scholarships in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, per CNBC.
“I’ve always believed there are inequities in our country,” Long told the Washington Post. “People’s apathy or resentment for that reality has been surfacing a lot lately. And so for me, it’s like, ‘I’m going to be a part of the solution.’”
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Chris Long Describes Difference Between Patriots and Eagles