It sure sounds like Philly fans are giving the Eagles a Super Bowl home-field advantage

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Both teams have plenty of motivation to win. 

The Chiefs are attempting to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The Eagles are making their second trip to the Super Bowl in the past three years, and they’re seeking revenge for their previous loss. Philadelphia suffered a 38-35 loss in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where Kansas City mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to steal the victory.

Although the Eagles will wear their midnight green home jerseys, the neutral site of the Super Bowl removes any potential home-field advantage. Although the Superdome is typically a loud stadium, Super Bowl crowds aren’t typically known for their noise. Given the high price of the tickets, many seats are often filled with executives and celebrities rather than fans. 

Eagles fans outnumber Chiefs fans ahead of Super Bowl LIX

Still, Philadelphia may be able to gain a slight edge from the stands. Eagles fans appear to be outnumbering Chiefs fans in New Orleans, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio reported on Friday.

“Based on what I saw at dinner on Friday night and during the one-mile walk back to the hotel … Eagles fans outnumber Chiefs fans in New Orleans,” Florio wrote. “And it’s not even close. It meshes with the report from PFT Live producer Matt Casey, who texted from the airport … that all he saw was Eagles fans arriving.”

Florio compared the representation of each team’s fanbase to Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. Seahawks fans significantly outnumbered Broncos fans in New Jersey ahead of that matchup. The crowd noise at MetLife Stadium forced a botched snap and a safety on Denver’s first offensive snap, and the Seahawks cruised to a lopsided 43-8 victory.

Still, the Eagles will need more than just fan support to pull out a victory. They’ll need to play a disciplined and efficient game for all four quarters. After all, they learned how costly a single mistake can be during their last Super Bowl appearance.

Although Eagles coach Nick Sirianni downplayed the significance of the previous Super Bowl, the painful memories are still fresh: the poor field conditions that made it difficult to find footing, the untimely fumble that potentially cost Philadelphia the game and the unfortunate holding penalty that sealed their fate.