They say sport is what brings people together. We can set aside our differences and come together to celebrate. With all of the horrific and divisive events of 2017, 2018 offers the Super Bowl to bring us back together, right?

This year’s matchup is all too fitting: the underdog vs. the dynastic champion. David vs. Goliath. The rebels vs. the status quo. You name it. The left vs. the right. That’s too far, right?

I wouldn’t think so. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft of the Patriots have all endorsed Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long have led the Eagles in calling for social justice against police brutality. Not only is this a collision course between Philadelphia and New England, but between the patricians and the plebeians across the nation.

The Patriots are arguable the most powerful dynasty in sports. No team can match the greatest player of all time with the greatest coach of all time. Super Bowl LII will be the team’s third championship appearance in the past four, and the eighth for the elite Brady-Belichick duo.

The Eagles have overcome injury after injury, culminating in the loss of MVP-candidate Carson Wentz. Nobody expected them to make it this far; as a result the team has embraced and underdog mentality all the way to the Super Bowl.

These two fanbases could not be any more different. The city of Philadelphia brings the most passionate, lifelong fans. There are much fewer, true New England fans; most are half-hearted stooges privileged with the best dynasty in all of sport. This is not an attack on the true New England fans who have supported their team year after year, however it is the reasoning driving many Americans to dislike the Patriots. As a result, the feel-good, underdog story of the Eagles has captured the hearts of most of the country. Only the elitist fake-fans and a small amount of die-hard fans will root for the Patriots tomorrow.

An America divided? Yes and no. Patriots fans and Eagles fans each want their respective teams to win, and bandwagon fans will claim the winner was the team that they had been cheering for all along. The elite will cheer for New England and the indignant will do so for Philly.

However, this almost unanimous majority for the Eagles is unprecedented. Has the Super Bowl brought the nation together in the wake of a horrid 2017? Maybe not, but the Eagles certainly have. What we stand for (or kneel for) as Americans is grounded in the miraculous Eagles season; overcoming adversity is the common ground that we Americans share. Regardless of our cultural backgrounds, political views, or socioeconomic status, not only have we overcome; we have thrived. No matter what team you want to be victorious tomorrow, embrace the discomfort: the adversity of living in America.

May the best team win.