Eagles fan who ran into subway pole says he is OK

PHILADELPHIA -- AnEagles fan whose attempt to rally subway passengers for a playoff game ended with him running into a concrete pole.

Jigar Desai said he is doing OK and his pain eased with the Eagles' 38-7 win over the Minnesota Vikingson Sunday night in the NFC Championship Game.

The mishap occurred while Desai was heading to the game. He had a few drinks while watching the New England Patriots defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game.

The 42-year-old Eagles season-ticket holder from suburban Philadelphia said he got pumped up watching a group of Eagles fans on a train heading in the opposite direction and wanted to get them excited. Thomas Emmet Ashton, who recorded a video of the incident, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Desai, who was in a Brian Dawkins jersey, was running alongside the train while trying to rally passengers before he crashed into a pole.

"Yeah, I hit the pole, but the passion is there," Desai said. "It reflects the passion of the entire city. We are good fans. Yeah, there are a couple of bad apples in the mix -- in any city you're going to find that. But I think as a whole we have supported this team for years and years and years. I think this city is ready to bring home the hardware."

The Eagles will face the Patriots, the reigning NFL champions, in Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis. It will be the 10th appearance in the Super Bowl for the Patriots but just the third for the Eagles, who've never won it. The Pats have fiveVince Lombardi Trophies.

Desai, who described himself as a "10-pound baby from India" who moved to Pennsylvania when he was a child, said his postgame celebration was a lot tamer and that he went to his job at a pharmaceutical company on Monday, although he was a bit sore. He said he might go to the doctor on Tuesday.

The subway platform run was perhaps the most viral moment from Sunday's festivities in Philadelphia, which included videos of fans climbing light poles slicked with Crisco, Eagles fans throwing beer at Vikings fans and a fan arrested for punching a police horse.

"I'm not throwing bottles or punching horses," Desai said. "It was just running into a pole."