February 18, 2025 –
There were celebrations all over the University City area when the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. Much like the city and the surrounding area. The students watched and took part in the aftermath of the game and the Champions Parade.
There is one University of Pennsylvania student that had quite a time and took part in the postgame revelry. That was Penn women’s basketball star guard Stina Almqvist.
How many people from Sweden, had their family visit, and reached a program milestone all in one short period of time? That was Stina Almqvist who watched the game with her parents and sister while they were visiting from her hometown of Kinne, Sweden. They saw the game, the celebration, and went to the parade. Stina played two games and reached the 1,000 career-points plateau, the 26th player to do so in program history.
Let’s take a glimpse of what father Fredrik, mother Marie, sister Jonna and Stina witnessed in Philadelphia through Stina’s eyes.
Super Bowl Sunday
“I watched it with my family and that was the first football game they ever watched,” said Almqvist. “We watched it in my room because I knew it was going to be hard to watch at a restaurant. When they won, I was like yeah! We got to go to Broad Street! My mom and sister were tired, so they didn’t want to go. I brought my dad. I was like you don’t get it; you need to witness this to get it. The first thing was someone from one of the resident buildings, and they’re like Go Birds! And I was like Yeah! Go Birds! They were starting the chant and the blow the whistle song. I was like yeah; you’re going to hear this a thousand times tonight.”
“We were in the middle of Broad Street. I come from a small town, so my dad posted it on Facebook. We ended up making the newspaper celebrating it.”
Champions Parade
The Almqvist family spent the week together. Stina had classes and two important Ivy League games to prepare for. And she was close to reaching the milestone. They would be here to witness the pursuit and accomplishment. But first, it was the Eagles Parade. Coach Mike McLaughlin wanted his players to see it, even though Yale was waiting.
“There was the Parade,” Almqvist said. “We (team) talked about it and you should try to go see it. We worked out with the shoot around, and I went early telling my sister and my mom, you have to go, because you got to witness it. On our way there, the Eagles chant. And my mom said this fun. And I was like, you’re going to hear this a thousand times.”
“We ended up getting there early, getting really good spots. Everyone around us. we were telling people we didn’t know anything about football. They’re like, this is huge. This only happened twice. The right week to be here.”
“I’m just super excited that they (her family) were here.”
And the Team
Also in the postgame session was freshman guard Sarah Miller who is from Arizona. The Super Bowl title was not lost on her either.
“I really didn’t grow up in a football house, but being involved with my teammates because we watched it at one of their houses,” Miller said. “And how much energy when they scored a touchdown. It was really fun to watch, and I might just end up watching more football from now on.”
And Now
Penn won both of their Ivy Weekend games over Yale and Brown. The Red and Blue tied for fourth place trying to secure a berth in Ivy Madness.
And now the chant can change to ‘Go Quakes!’
Almqvist got the milestone points with her family in the stands. They were hoping to see it. They knew how close she was to 1,000 and her sister said, “You better get it during my three games when I’m there!”
Memories, milestones, and days to cherish. A Super Week for Philadelphia and the Almqvist family.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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