This story is one of the best examples of the Eagles’ emotional intelligence

It’s very easy to be proud of the Philadelphia Eagles considering they are Super Bowl champions.

But it’s not just the team’s on-field success that inspires pride. It’s also about how they treat fellow human beings. Emotional intelligence, if you will.

Case in point, here’s a great story about the Eagles awarded former team employee Carol with a Super Bowl ring.

That’s awesome.

But wait! It gets even better.

If you’ll recall back to a Peter King article from late January, Carol is the one who had a role in the Eagles calling a flea-flicker against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game.

Fun is part of it too. That showed on the third-quarter flea-flicker that broke up the championship. The flea-flicker was an homage to longtime Eagles administrative assistant Carol Wilson, who was Andy Reid’s aide when he was the Eagles’ head coach—and when Pederson became a quality-control coach there in 2009. In Pederson’s four years as an assistant (2009-12) and two years as head coach, the flea-flicker was never called. Until last week.

“When I was here working with Andy, back then we would write the game plan quite literally up on the grease boards,” Pederson said. “And Carol was the one who would always type our game plan list into the computer. And so, every week I’d walk her through it, so she could understand the handwriting. She’d always look for one section of the game plan. ‘Is the flea flicker in?’ She just loved the flea-flicker. She loved the play, and I think she even loved the name. Flea-flicker. Every week, I’d say, ‘Oh, Carol. Sorry. It didn’t make the list this week. Maybe next week.’ Every week she’d ask, and I might say, ‘Yeah, it’s in this week, it’s gonna be great. We might call it this week!’ That went on for four years. Every week. Every week she’d ask. We never called it. Not one time.

“And so she congratulated me after the Atlanta game, about two weeks ago. She said how proud she was of me—she knows me pretty well. She was here when I was a player, and then obviously, working for Andy as a coach. And I said, ‘Thanks, Carol.’ Then she texted me and said, ‘Is the flea-flicker in this week? It’s my favorite play!’ And I remembered that it was her favorite. So last week, later in the week, I texted her and said, ‘Carol, the flea-flicker’s in this week. It’s in.’

“So the game comes, and I called it in the game at the right time, and I was thinking, ‘I hope Carol’s watching right now.’ There was Carol Wilson pressure! And we hit on it.

“Right after the game, I look at my phone. She sent congratulations. She was so happy we called the play. She gave me the thumbs-up emoji. That was cool. That was cool. I am so happy we got her favorite play in the game—and it worked.”

Pederson told ESPN that the flea-flicker didn’t have anything to do with Carol getting her ring. Rather, Carol suspects it was Jeffrey Lurie who made the decision.

The idea of “emotional intelligence” was mocked when Lurie talked about it after firing Chip Kelly a few years ago. It shouldn’t have been. The Eagles have clearly built an incredible culture based around it. Even non-Eagles fans are finding the Birds impossible not to like.