Jordan Mailata proudly waved the Australian flag from the dais as his Philadelphia Eagles celebrated their stunning Super Bowl success.
Mailata also draped the flag of Samoa, the country of his parents, around his neck as he floated around New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome after the Eagles’ 40-22 upset win over Kansas City in the NFL showpiece.
“It’s just a crazy, crazy journey so far,” said the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl victory.
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Mailata, the Sydney-born son of Samoan immigrants, was lauded for his influence in helping deny the Chiefs from becoming the first franchise to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
The first Australian to play in two Super Bowls gained some redemption on the Chiefs who beat his Eagles for the famed Vince Lombardi Trophy two years ago.
“It’s a completely new team, that’s the beauty about it, the culture that we built early on,” he told Fox Sports NFL.
“We left that baggage of ’22 because we didn’t want to bring that to the new season.”
The 27-year-old who played junior rugby league for the South Sydney Rabbitohs had never played American football until drafted by the Eagles in 2018.
Now, just seven years later, he’s etched in Australian – and American – sporting folklore.
Mailata is among four Australians to play in a Super Bowl.
But he’s the first to triumph with punters Ben Graham (Arizona, 2009), Mitch Wishnowsky (San Francisco, 2020) and Arryn Siposs, who was Mailata’s Eagles teammate two years ago, all losing.
Another Australian does have a Super Bowl ring: Jesse Williams was on the Seattle Seahawks’ roster in their 2014 triumph but didn’t play during the season because of a knee injury.
In the showcase fixture on Sunday night (Monday AEDT) in New Orleans, the Bankstown-born Mailata was hailed for his display as an offensive linesman.
“Jordan Mailata … he just covers them up, it’s like he just becomes night-time, he’s just like the moon, he just blocks out everything,” gushed Louis Riddick, a former NFL player, in commentary for ESPN.
The 2.03-metre tall, 166-kilogram Mailata said his overt physical presence came with a crucial mentality.
“You have got to want to – you have got to want to be more physical,” he said.
“That was a great defence we were going up against so we knew we had to answer that call. And that ain’t easy, you have to have the want to.”
Mailata helped the Eagles storm to a 24-0 halftime lead amid a horror showing from Kansas City’s megastar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was sacked three times and intercepted twice by the long break.
The nightmare for Mahomes, rated among the greatest quarterbacks ever, continued on resumption when sacked on consecutive plays for the second time in the game.
The Eagles soon added a field goal and another touchdown for an irretrievable 34-0 advantage before the Chiefs finally got on the scoreboard with a touchdown 34 seconds before the end of the third quarter.
With Donald Trump becoming the first US president in office to attend a Super Bowl, the Eagles outplayed Kansas City in every facet.
Mahomes, who was MVP when leading Kansas City to three Super Bowl wins in the past five seasons, ended up being sacked six times – the most of his esteemed career.
The Chiefs were aiming to become the third team in history to win three-straight NFL championships and the first to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
But they were completely overwhelmed by Philadelphia and Mailata, who last April signed a three-year, $US66 million ($A105 million) contract extension, including a $US20 million ($A32 million) signing bonus, to remain with the Eagles through to 2028.
© AAP