Saquon Barkley feels the love of the Eagles fans and is “super excited” about the Kelly green jerseys

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Saquon Barkley had no idea that Kelly Green was a big deal to most Eagles fans until he was surrounded by crowds of fans wearing the team’s alternate jersey colors at Coca-Cola Park on the last Saturday in June.

“I didn’t know it was a big deal until I got here,” the running back said during his teammate DeVona Simth’s third annual celebrity softball game at the home of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate team.

“I didn’t know how much love Kelly Green was getting, so I have to say I’m really looking forward to these games. I’m obviously still learning because I’m new to the team, so yeah, I’m really looking forward to these games and I think they’re going to be really good games.”

The Eagles will wear their Kelly Green in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars (Nov. 3, Sunday Night Football) and Week 17 (Dec. 29) against the Dallas Cowboys.

Until then, it is not yet clear how many yards Barkley will run, how many yards he will pass and, of course, how many touchdowns he will have scored.

Expectations are nothing new for him. He had them when the New York Giants selected them with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, and he has them on his new team, and the expectations are even higher after the Eagles did something the Giants shied away from: They gave him a three-year contract that will pay him an average of about $13 million per season.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler added more on a recent SportsCenter broadcast: “The feeling around the league and after talking to several teams is that Saquon Barkley will have a big impact, maybe even as much of an impact as Christian McCaffrey did with the 49ers.”

That’s why Eagles fans are so excited about general manager Howie Roseman’s signing of the free agent. But Barkley’s popularity with fans isn’t just down to numbers, as evidenced by the large number of No. 26 jerseys worn by the roughly 8,000 fans who showed up to Smith’s softball game.

Additionally, hundreds of fans cheered Barkley during pregame batting and fielding practice. Barkley did not participate in batting in the game, as he is still learning how to play after not having much exposure to it growing up. However, he did get on the field for some time.

“It was always love,” he said sadly of the Eagles fans, “but now that I’m wearing green and I’m with the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s a little more love.”

“Now people come up to me and say they’ve wanted me since the draft, since I was in college. I played high school football in Pennsylvania, played college football in Pennsylvania, and now I’m back home and playing in Pennsylvania again. That means a lot to me.”

There is still a portion of Giants fans who have a hard time accepting Barkley’s decision to leave North Jersey and go to Philly. Barkley is OK with that.

“I don’t care if a Giants fan talks bad about me,” he said. “It’s sad. If I respond, it’s for educational reasons. It’s a business and a lot of people don’t understand that side. People are going to say what they want to say … at the same time, I don’t want to diminish my situation right now because I’m so incredibly blessed and grateful for all the love I get from Eagles fans and within the organization.”

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