It’s 1980 all over again: Philadelphia rejoices as Eagles, Phillies provide a deja vu weekend

What began Friday with Rhys Hoskins’ bat spike ended Sunday night with Jalen Hurts’ kneel, and Philly drowned in its delight.

With 54 seconds to play, as Hurts lined up his team in the victory formation, the speakers at Lincoln Financial Field rang out with the chorus to Dancing On My Own. That’s the Phillies’ hype song. Get used to that tune.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had heard it Saturday night, too, when the Phillies finished their business with the Braves. Lurie watched the Phillies from owner John Middleton’s box. Middleton’s a Philadelphia native. Lurie’s been a Philadelphian for 28 years.

For the first time, together, the Broad Street buddies are the toast of the town.

“I’m so excited for John,” Lurie said. “And it’s great for the city. When sports delivers so much happiness, and brings people together when we’re in such a polarized society — it’s wonderful to see. It’s very special.”

Philadelphia has been a big-time sports town for about 160 years, but there’s hasn’t been a weekend quite like this for two generations; not since Pete Rose and Steve Carlton and Michael Jack Schmidt shared a concrete bowl called Veterans Stadium the year we witnessed a Miracle on Ice. This weekend, the town’s two big-time teams continued their improbable runs against big-time rivals they’ve long pursued and despised.

First, the Phillies knocked the Braves out of the playoffs Friday and Saturday behind Hoskins’ bomb, Aaron Nola’s dominance, and J.T. Realmuto’s inside-the-deafening-park home run. They’d advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time in 12 years by conjuring ghosts of their 2008 title team, but by midnight Sunday, Dancing On My Own no longer applied.

They had to share the floor with the Eagles.

The Birds not only bolstered their claim as football’s best team, now 6-0 and alone among unbeatens, but they did it by hammering the hated Cowboys: three interceptions, two touchdown passes, and a 26-17 win. They thrilled the 69,879 at Lincoln Financial Field almost as fully as Bryce Harper, Hoskins & Co. electrified Citizens Bank Park and earned their trip to San Diego, where they’ll begin the National League Championship Series on Tuesday.

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Really, the excitement began last weekend. The Phillies swept baseball’s Cardinals out of the postseason with wild-card wins in St. Louis on that Friday and Saturday. Come Sunday evening, the Eagles had rolled over football’s Cardinals in Arizona.

If that sparked a week of happiness in the City of Brotherly Love, this will be a week of utter joy.

There’s no debate that the Phillies’ wins were bigger, since the Phillies stayed alive in their pursuit of a third World Series title. But the Sunday night game meant first place in the NFC East for the winner. The Cowboys were the preseason favorites to defend their division title, but the Eagles hold a two-game lead over them, and the tiebreaker.

The Eagles can spend the week like the rest of the region, reveling in their accomplishment and watching the ballplayers in California. All the other teams are busy, but the Birds have a bye.

“All the Philly teams are killing it right now,” said Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham.

He was drafted in 2010 and saw the last two seasons of the Phillies’ Golden Era, but he never caught Phillies fever. Now, Graham can’t wait for the Phillies to come back Friday for Games 3, 4, and maybe 5 on Sunday.

“I’m gonna watch this week. And, you know, I’ve never actually been to a Phillies game! Sorry, y’all,” Graham said. “I’m gonna try to make some this weekend. Me and wifey will come.”

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He’ll have a choice to make Tuesday. The 76ers begin their season in Boston just 33 minutes before the NLCS begins in California. For an appetizer, he can tune in to Tampa, Fla., and watch the first period of John Tortorella’s undefeated Flyers (undefeated Flyers?).

As bonkers as the weekend has been, the craziest thing is, it all might end the way you want it to end.

The Eagles are the NFL’s best team after 35% of the season. With Zack Wheeler and Nola properly lined up, with the bullpen locked in, and with Harper scorching — he leads all playoff hitters with a 1.437 OPS and a .435 batting average — the Phillies should beat the Padres for the NL pennant. As we learned in 2008, all bets are off come World Series time.

The Sixers have their best chance at a title since The Process began a decade ago.

With Torts cracking the whip, even the Flyers might sniff the playoffs.

And the Union are the best they’ve ever been.

A loss on Sunday Night Football surely would’ve killed the buzz.

A loss?

Please. The Cowboys weren’t on the Eagles’ level Sunday night.

The Birds duped former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, now the best defender in the NFL, twice, with the same play. They silenced CeeDee Lamb. They benefited, as usual, from Mike McCarthy’s duncery: He called a rollout pass for Cooper Rush, who stinks, on fourth-and-1 from the Cowboys’ 34, just 20 minutes into the game. Dallas turned it over on downs.

After the first quarter, the game was never really in question, and Philly felt it. It’s a feeling Philly hasn’t felt in almost exactly 42 years.

This week in 1980, on Oct. 19, as the Phillies surged toward the first World Series championship in franchise history, the Eagles collected their sixth win of the season en route to their first Super Bowl appearance.

The team the Eagles beat on Oct. 19, 1980?

The visiting Dallas Cowboys.