Crossing Broad
You’ve probably seen the story of the Eagles Pep Band being let go by the team. Eyewitness News* reported it first, saying this, in part:
The Eagles Pep Band, which has been with the team for 28 seasons, is being “let go,” a member of the group told CBS News Philadelphia (sic) on Wednesday. A team source confirmed the news.
An Eagles team source said that the on-field entertainment is “evolving.” The team thanked the Pep Band for their years of service with the organization. The Eagles didn’t provide any specifics in their plans for on-field entertainment heading into the 2025 season.
These guys performed at Eagles home games but also did the local circuit of TV news, fundraisers, weddings, and corporate joints. They started back in 1996 and transformed the fight song into the version you know today.
It seemed like the majority of the fan response skewed negative. A small sampling:
The Eagles Pep Band has been a fan favorite forever; a huge part of the fun at the stadium (especially our pregame shows). They also were always there for me when I needed to make a charity event more exciting. It’s a huge mistake by Eagles management to let them go. pic.twitter.com/uNwPUkwC5s
— Glen Macnow (@RealGlenMacnow) March 27, 2025
Terrible decision @Eagles. Just so some dj can blast Not Like Us in my ear so loud that I cant hear the person next to me. Brutal decision
— andrew catalana (@andrewcat17) March 27, 2025
Philly loves tradition, and does not respond very well to change, as you know. If you’re gonna do away with tradition, right or wrong, fair or not, you should probably have an explanation for it, yeah? This was one of those things that would have benefited from a short public statement. Maybe one is to come, and nothing crazy, but a checking of the emotional intelligence box. We’ll have to see what the evolution of this on-field entertainment looks like in 2025 before passing judgment on whatever directional shift this is going in.
At least the Pep Band was unique in a world of sanitized copycat stadium entertainment, which typically features some doofus hype man yelling into a microphone while DJ cornball blasts Seven Nation Army over the loudspeakers for the umpteenth time. Enough with Seven Nation Army. It makes me want to crawl out my skin when I hear it coming out of the Lincoln Financial Field speakers.
The good thing is that the Pep Band can continue to play gigs wherever they want. Here are 10 upcoming possibilities:
![We don't want no puppy, we want a [3-year-old] dog! Happy birthday, Reggie! 🥳🐶 #shorts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IgB_u05sak8/mqdefault.jpg)
