Eagles fans are filling a Jalen Hurts mural with ‘thank you’ notes and showing their love despite Super Bowl loss

After the Philadelphia Eagles lost to Kansas City Sunday, star quarterback Jalen Hurts apologized to his teammates for his fumble in the first half.

“You either win or you learn,” with the emphasis on the “learn,” was Hurts’ refrain to reporters.

Known for being stoic, Hurts appeared deflated, bordering contrite, in the moments after a heartbreaking loss on a national stage. Birds fans mirrored his demeanor that night and in the days to follow.

Still, the fans had a refrain of their own for their team, especially their quarterback: thank you.

The day after the Super Bowl loss, Bill Strobel encouraged people to come to the Fairmount section of the city, where he’d painted a Hurts mural, and show their support. By Tuesday, the mural of Hurts in action, ready to throw the ball an unspecified number of yards, was covered with chalk messages echoing the sentiment.

“You inspire us,” read the bottom right corner with “MVP” scrawled right on top.

“Hurts + Eagles forever,” read another message.

If there was any anger or frustration among Philadelphia fans after the loss, it was directed at officiants.

In between sips of his Corona on Monday at Max’s Eagle Bar, 35-year-old Elon Jackson joked the penalty that cost his team the game was an “inside job by the NFL scriptwriters.”

At Reading Terminal Market, Reuben Austin, 62, tried to move past his indignation by rocking his Eagles hat as a way to signal the season was a successful one regardless of the outcome.

“We’re proud of what they did and we know they’ll be back because they’re a team on the way up,” said Austin, between lunch bites. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of them yet.”

For Austin and others, much of their hope remains nested in Hurts, whom they were hard pressed to criticize after what they described as a blockbuster performance. Fans fired off stats. Hurts threw for 304 yards and a touchdown, running for 70 yards and three touchdowns, they clamored. How could they be upset with him?

As if to ensure Hurts heard their message, fans continued to flood social media with messages of support.

One user took to Twitter on Tuesday to talk about how Hurts had inspired them.

“If you were ever looked over or had people doubt that you would ever be anything in life, you get it,” read the post saying thanks. “Once you know what failure feels like, you look at losses differently.”

Hurts’ struggles in his final collegiate years, when he was demoted as backup quarterback in Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma, are no secret. Even in the Birds’ Cinderella season, Hurts faced criticism from doubters like analyst Chris Simms — who later admitted he was wrong.

And Hurts has been open about how his arrival to Philly must have been a surprise to many.

“They probably didn’t even want to draft me here,” he said in a news conference after beating the 49ers in the NFC championship game.

If that was once true, Hurts should have no doubt he is now synonymous with the team, known for his work ethic.

“We came out of last year not seeing this at all,” said Strobel, who painted the Fairmount mural — one of at least two Hurts murals that sprung up around the city ahead of the Super Bowl.

“It was like he was still on a ‘prove it to me’ kind of a situation,” Strobel said, “and he came out and all he did was just be one of the top quarterbacks in the whole league and his record was amazing as a starter and he says all the right things.”

Strobel had a note of his own against the black backdrop of his mural, though he kept it simple:

“Thank you.”