X
  • Culture

Astronauts gaze down on Philly after Eagles Super Bowl win

From space, you can't see the greased-up light poles, exuberant Eagles fans or sad Tom Brady memes.

Headshot of Gael Cooper
Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper

After the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl on Sunday, their notoriously rowdy fans took to the streets to celebrate.

Even astronauts had a view of the scene. But from the ISS, you can't quite zero in close enough to see the greased light poles.

That view from space looks so elegant, so calm, so quiet. But in reality, Philadelphia was much more chaotic after the first-ever Eagles championship. Even before the celebration began, some people were worried.

Some celebrations were seriously stupid. Fans decided to climb atop an awning at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, which led to its collapse, and reportedly caused injuries.

Before the game, police tried to prevent some of the mayhem by greasing city light poles not just with Crisco, but with hydraulic fluid, supposedly more of a climbing deterrent. 

It didn't work.

But what about Philly's famed Liberty Bell?

And for some viewers, it wasn't about who won, it was about who lost.

There's always next year, Patriots fans.

Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here's your place for the lighter side of tech. 

CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition.