February 07, 2023
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Dallas Goedert and Avonte Maddox are great friends and used to be roommates.
During the reporter free-for-all that was Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, Maddox, paired with the Eagles' own social media team, did a mock interview with Goedert, poking fun at their friendship while Goedert threw a playful jab and said his favorite guy on the team was also the shortest guy on the team.
"You better be talking about Boston [Scott] or at least [Britain] Covey!" Maddox replied.
Goedert, like his buddy Maddox, was a 2018 draft pick by the Eagles. He came into an organization that was fresh off its first Super Bowl win and the immediate goal was to get back to the mountain top, to become a new-age dynasty. That never came to fruition.
Goedert played in two postseason games as a rookie, even catching a touchdown from Nick Foles in the iconic Double Doink Game, but he was still resigned to a backup role behind franchise staple Zach Ertz. The shadow of that aging 2017 Super Bowl squad loomed large. The vibes were ultimately off the next three years before both Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz were jettisoned after the 2020 season, starting anew with the Nick Sirianni era.
Rolling into Super Bowl LVII, Goedert is no longer the guy straight off the bus from South Dakota thrown into the wild world that is Philadelphia. Ertz is gone. The passing of the guard happened during Ertz's 2021 midseason trade. He's now one of the NFL's premier tight ends. Goedert's able to leave his own postseason legacy.
"This is special. This is incredible," Goedert said about his first taste of the Super Bowl atmosphere. "Obviously, coming in after they won the Super Bowl, the one thing I wanted to do was get back. I knew how much it meant to the city of Philadelphia. I wanted to hopefully bring a Lombardi Trophy back home. I couldn't have scripted it more perfect. It's been so fun all year.
"The biggest thing to me is that we have to finish the job on Sunday. I don't want to say, 'Aw, this would be a waste if we didn't win,' but nothing will be as good without bringing it home."
Peeking into the minds of Eagles fans, that's a good answer. The 2022 team has given the city a thrilling ride, but banners hang forever. "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die" is always an apt saying when it comes to the glory of championships and titles.
"We manifested it ever since we got in the league," Goedert said about his and Maddox's dreams of reaching the biggest stage in American sports.
Sunday will showcase whether that dream for Goedert involves popping champagne in the locker room, Super Bowl champions merch and a parade down Broad Street next week.
Follow Shamus & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @shamus_clancy | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Shamus' RSS feed to your feed reader
