SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Cetronia Elementary School wanted to send its pupils into the Super Bowl weekend cheering and prepped with a special pep rally.
So Principal Jamie Giaquinto on Friday invited to the school one of the biggest Philadelphia Eagles fans he knows.
That was super-fan "Eagles Tom" Gearhart, a close friend of Giaquinto's.
- Cetronia Elementary School held a rally Friday morning to educate pupils on the impact and importance of the Super Bowl each year as the area readies to cheer on the Philadelphia Eagles
- Invited was Eagles "super fan" Tom Gearhart, who served to excite the kids and show the fun of cheering on a team with friends and family
- Organizations and schools throughout the Lehigh Valley celebrating the Eastern Pennsylvania team as it faces off against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday
Gearhart came fully decked out in Eagles gear, sharing special moments that following the team has brought him and his family.
Gearhart even demonstrated a model of the Lombardi trophy to show what the players would be competing over.
As students left, they got to see the van Gearhardt had dressed front to back in Eagles' iconography.
Continuing a tradition
In the school gymnasium, Giaquinto led the crowd of excited children in learning about the significance of the Super Bowl, highlighting the viewership it gets, the cost of the tickets and even the amount of food consumed during the NFL's annual finale.
Giaquinto says he wanted to echo something that was done while he was in elementary school when the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl in 1981.
"It's something ... I remembered, and coming out of a pandemic, our school, we're working on bringing our community back together," Giaquinto said.
"Continuing the tradition, bringing everyone together, celebrating an event that everyone is going to be watching this weekend was the goal."
A pep band of young brass players at the school greeted students as they walked in, and the Parkland High School dance team did a performance during the rally to the cheers of the students.
Spirit is running hot
All across the Lehigh Valley, the spirit of rooting for Eastern Pennsylvania's hometown team is running hot.
Earlier this week, Emmaus High School held its own rally, celebrating school graduate Kyzir White, who will play for the Eagles during the Super Bowl.
The Lehigh County coroner even jokingly declared the Kansas City Chiefs dead before the game even began.
Many other schools and organizations in the area held their own celebrations.
At Cetronia, the students and staff contributed to the fervor.
Teachers Geniene Parr, Jess Brans and Alyssa Pagliaro led a group of budding "super-fan" students in a tightly contested trivia showdown against Gearhart before the students were led in the Eagles' fight song.
Passion 'I knew our students would love'
Gearhart, who attended Parkland High School — the same school district as Cetronia — and later Shippensburg University with Giaquinto, also visited the elementary school last time the birds were in the championship.
"The Eagles are going to win their second Super Bowl on Sunday.""Eagles Tom" Gearhart
"His passion for the Eagles is something that I knew our students would just love," Giaquinto said. "They loved them five years ago and as you saw today, they love them again. So that makes it special to that my best friend is part of this assembly."
"The gymnasium was filled with energy and a lot of hype," Gearhart said. "It was super cool to see today."
"The Eagles are going to win their second Super Bowl on Sunday."
