There is no denying the passion of Philadelphia Eagles fans.
That passion flows from the city, across the Delaware River and into South Jersey. Sorry North Jersey Giants fans, half the state flies the Eagles flag proudly.
And after kicking their New York nemesis back to the swamps of the Meadowlands in their first playoff game a few weeks ago, and then sending the San Francisco 49ers back to the West Coast this past Sunday in the NFC Championship game, the Eagles will be playing in their second Super Bowl in five years when they travel to Arizona to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl XLII.
Emotions and the anticipation couldn’t be higher in Eagles Nation, and one Cape May County fan took his passion along with his artistic skills to the Cove Beach in Cape May, Thursday morning, to sculpt the Eagles logo into the sand.
“It’s always exciting when they’re in the Super Bowl,” said sculptor Brendan Schaffer, a lifelong Eagles fan from Lower Township. Schaffer was back early Friday morning, fighting the cold and high winds, to touch up the more than 8-foot sculpture.
Schaffer, who is an after-school program leader for Wildwood Public Schools, has been sand sculpting all his life but has been at it as a semi-pro since 2015. He said it took him five hours to finish the artwork.
“I do it for my love of the Eagles, but truly it’s for the Eagles fans,” he said as a steady stream of people, dressed in some kind of Eagles attire, stopped by to watch him in action and pick his brain on a number of things that included his process on the sculpture and his Eagles fandom.
Most comments from people, who caught wind of it through social media, were “looks amazing” and “thank you for doing this.”
Schaffer said the placement of the sand sculpture was carefully planned out with the help of Cape May City Mayor Zachary Mullock.
“We thought that the lighthouse and the beautiful scenery with the water and the dunes behind it was the best spot to do it,” explained Schaffer.
The mayor, who also stopped by to check on the artwork Friday morning, had nothing but praise for Schaffer and all the work he has done in the city.
“He just brings joy to everyone through his art and his personality,” said Mullock. He noted that Cove Beach is already a beautiful location but the addition of Schaffer’s sculpture “will add a little uniqueness for at least a temporary amount of time.”
Taking advantage of the beautiful early light was Jesse Lybarger, of Cape May, who patiently waited with a smile on his face for Schaffer to finish his touch-ups before laying out an Eagles flag in front of the sculpture as an added element for his picture.
Schaffer said that his lifelong goal is to create art that brings joy to people and that even a few Giants fans have reached out saying that even though they dislike the Eagles they appreciate what he is doing.
“And so that’s why I do it, to just see the joy on the people’s faces.”
The plan is to keep it up until Super Bowl Sunday, Schaffer said, and when the Eagles win he will probably come back for another week and add another piece to the sculpture for more photo ops.
“The Eagles are an amazing team and they’re doing great so you know ride the wave, Fly Eagles Fly.”
Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Tim on Instagram @photog_hawk.
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