Free SEPTA Rides for Super Bowl Parade, Courtesy of Kevin Hart’s Tequila

With something like a million people descending on Philadelphia for this Friday’s Super Bowl parade, the city has announced free SEPTA rides, courtesy of Gran Coramino tequila, one of the billion or so companies that Philly native Kevin Hart seems to own. The free SEPTA rides only apply to trips on the Broad Street Subway and the Market-Frankford Line. You’ll have to pay the regular fare on buses, trolleys, the Norristown High Speed Line, and Regional Rail.

If you are riding SEPTA to and from the Super Bowl parade, the most important thing you need to know is that not all stations will be open. For instance, if you live on the Main Line along the Paoli-Thorndale (nee R5) line, that train won’t make any stops between Bryn Mawr and 30th Street Station. If you live in South Philly, the Broad Street Line won’t make any stops between Snyder Avenue and Walnut-Locust.

Here’s a map showing the open stations:

A couple of observations. First, tequila paying for free SEPTA rides for deranged Eagles fans just seems somehow so perfect. Second, SEPTA is closing huge swaths of the region’s transit when mass transit is exactly what we need for mass events like a Super Bowl parade. SEPTA claims these closures are so the agency can “safely move the large crowds into the city.” But, I dunno. Seems kind of backwards.

For more info on the free SEPTA rides and other important service notes for the Super Bowl parade, go here.

About That Unsportsmanlike Conduct

You’ve certainly seen plenty of videos by now of Philadelphia Eagles fans wreaking havoc on the city after our Super Bowl win. And now police have identified six people charged with assaulting police officers during the melee. But, yeah, I’m sure your Valentine’s Day dinner plans in the city won’t be disrupted a bit by Super Bowl parade partiers this Friday.

By the Numbers

2.6 inches: The official call on how much snow Philly proper got overnight. Somehow, the Upper Darby school district called a snow day yesterday afternoon for this Snowmageddon. My daughter was incensed that all she got was a two-hour delay even though her school is about five minutes from Upper Darby. Forecasters are calling for a little more messy weather, but then we hit 50 degrees on Thursday.

99024582: Serial number for the trademark application just filed by DAD SZN (it’s a clothing and accessories company owned by former Eagles Super Bowl winner Nick Foles) for the phrase “You Want Philly Philly.” If you need a reminder of the crazy Foles Super Bowl play behind “Philly Philly”, here you go.

$7: What you’ll pay for some of the custom cocktails at the new happy hour from Michael Schulson’s latest endeavor, Dear Daphni. (It’s the third item on the link.) Considering what drinks in this town cost these days, that’s a swell deal! I think I’ll have a Marrakesh Mule. And some of those Turkish lamb dumplings and harissa salmon tartare, too.

Fare Thee Well

Stephen Starr opens lots of restaurants. Closing restaurants? Not so much. But the time has come for Pod.

Reader Mail

Yesterday, I told you about Mayor Parker’s dubious claim that restaurants won’t be impacted negatively by the Super Bowl parade, even though the parade and Valentine’s Day are on the same day.

Mario from South Jersey had this to say:

Hi Victor,

Mayor Parker and Eagles management are clueless. And it’s not just Philly restaurants that will suffer. Florists will take a huge hit; Valentine’s Day is their biggest day. Shutting down the city and blocking off streets on Friday will make deliveries in the city impossible. Lastly, to your point regarding dinner cancellations, I canceled our Friday reservation at Lacroix on Monday night. No way I want to be anywhere near Philadelphia on Friday. Just sayin’.

I hear you, Mario. I hear you. Now let me see if I can snag that resy!

Local Talent

Everybody and their grandmother has been trying to find any angle they can to write about the Eagles and the Super Bowl. Case in point: The Inquirer actually ran a story all about how not to lose your voice during the Super Bowl. And New York Times music critic Lindsay Zoladz didn’t want to feel left out, so she used the occasion of our win to craft a playlist of “10 Songs That Celebrate the Sound of Philadelphia”, songs that feature local talent. The Philly cynic in me wanted to roll my eyes at this outsider’s list. But then I read it. And she did pretty well!