50,000 fans attend Eagles' open practice at Lincoln Financial Field
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Football season is more than a month away, but Lincoln Financial Field was the place to be as the Eagles held their only open practice of training camp Sunday night.
The Eagles training camp had the feel of a Sunday night game, from the tailgating in the parking lot --many of them wearing green to show off their Eagles Pride -- to the huge crowd inside the stadium.
An estimated 50,000 fans came out to watch the Eagles practice.
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"We're just having some sandwiches, some light food," one fan, Rob Shannon, said.
Y'all know this is practice, right?#EaglesCamp | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/H43ag0kHuI
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 7, 2023
"We're all big Eagles fans," Alexandra Gonzalez said. "We try to come out, we go to every tailgate and it's just amazing to see the energy."
Fans got pumped for practice by singing the Eagles Fight Song. Then they roared with excitement for each player who walked onto the field.
"I definitely want to see Jalen Hurts throwing perfect passes to A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and uh, can't forget about them autographs," Juan Maldonado said. "That's our goal."
Fans say they've been waiting all summer to watch the Eagles work out.
"We love preseason, getting ready," Shannon said. "Hopefully, have another exciting season like last year."
It was a tough loss last year in the Super Bowl, but fans say the team is rebounding and they're excited to see the players' growth.
Gonzalez has an idea of where the Birds could double down.
"Hopefully this year they come out and they work a little harder on their defense, but everything else, they're a perfect team," she said.
Fans roared with excitement to welcome @Eagles quarterback @jalenhurts back to Lincoln Financial Field. Today the Birds are holding a public practice for preseason training camp. The Eagles’ first preseason game is on Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens. pic.twitter.com/WOGvCN2E69
— Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) August 6, 2023
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Among the crowd was Jovonna Townsend and her son Asher. She says he was just three pounds at birth and almost died from sepsis.
Now, he's a healthy 7-year-old and plays football just like his favorite quarterback.
"He's a preemie. He was given a 1% chance of living, so this is a great opportunity to see him here alive today," Towsend said.
An inspiring story as fans hope to inspire the Birds to win a championship this season. All proceeds from the ticket sales benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation.