Saquon Barkley is a lot of things — a three-time Pro Bowler, an All-Pro, and most recently, a Super Bowl Champion. Not one to be satisfied, the Philadelphia Eagles’ star running back has already sought a new challenge, making an appearance on the latest episode of ‘Hot Ones.’
For those unfamiliar with the viral YouTube interview-style talk show, each episode consists of host Sean Evans asking his celebrity guests questions while they attempt to complete rounds of chicken wings coated in increasingly spicy hot sauce. Over the show’s years, various Philadelphia-related celebrities have tackled the challenge, including Sixers’ star Joel Embiid, Sabrina Carpenter, and most recently, Rob McElhenney and Kevin Hart.
While working his way through the show’s progressively picante wings, Barkley discussed a few different topics, ranging from the Eagles Super Bowl parade to his favorite career highlights and the current state of sports media.
Super Bowl parade regrets?
The entire parade was closely followed, but one moment that stood out was when Barkley noticed an Eagles staffer in the crowd of fans and lifted them over to join the parade. While the moment quickly became a viral sensation, endearing Barkley to the city even further, it remains one regret from the day—not that it happened, but how it happened.
“Yes, that’s my guy; he helps a lot,” Barkley said. “And, you know, I kind of just saw him, and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ And he was like, ‘They didn’t have enough tickets.’ And I was a little under the influence, I guess you could say. And I was just like, ‘Man, come on.’ He’s a grown man. I probably should have let him jump over by himself. If I can go back and change one thing, I probably just helped him jump over instead of picking him up like a baby.”
Career highlight
Barkley’s career is far from finished, but he already has a large pool of highlights to choose from. Despite his many years in the league, Barkley picked two recent highlights, one of his favorites and one of the fans’ favorites.
“My favorite highlight would be this year in the snow. We had a snow game, and I broke a long touchdown. For me, the reason why that’s my favorite play, is because [I was] kind of hyping myself up and talking to my therapist and my mentor and coming up with a mantra, I was talking to myself like saying, ‘This is it. This the time.’ It’s kind of like where everything all came together and just clicked for me in that moment. But I think fans’ favorite would probably be like the little jump backward.”
Referring to the play as “the little jump backward” is a bit humorous. Barkley’s reverse hurdle quickly took over the season, not just locally, but nationally. It may not be his favorite play, but it surely ranks towards the top for Eagles and NFL fans alike.
State of sports media
Fans may not be aware, but Barkley studied communications and broadcast journalism while at Penn State. Knowing this, host Sean Evans took the opportunity to ask Barkley’s opinion on the current state of sports media.
“I would say a B+. Only because I think they’re doing a really good job of getting stories out there and communicating, but a lot if it’s just messy. And it’s something that when I go to that next step that I want to make sure I stay away from and make sure I’m not trying to say anything that’s clickbait.
“I think it’s important especially if you’re in my profession of football, you use the opportunities to have fans get to learn and understand the game or maybe how free agency works, how trading works, the business of the NFL. Because the fans don’t see it that way and it is a crazy business. So, I would say definitely B+.
“I think there’s a lot of great guys out there that’s doing a phenomenal job and a lot of great women too. But there’s definitely, you got to get views, you got to make sure you sell, so some people might have sold out a little bit.”
On celebrity Philly fans
Barkley was also asked about celebrity Philly fans and who is the most fun to see.
“Bradley [Cooper]’s there all the time. So he’s like, he’s in it, he really does this. He’s there all the time. Gillie [Da Kid] has kind of been, like our big support. He’s got a little theme song with us now. And having a lot of fun signing jerseys. I think I signed something the other day as a team photo of Gillie was on it so he’s part of the team. I’m a big fan of Kevin [Hart], and you don’t see him as often as you see Gillie or you see Meek [Mill], so it’s refreshing when you see Kevin.
The very next question was if Barkley was aware that Hart had purchased and named a live eagle in honor of the Philadelphia running back.
Saquon: “I hope that’s just PR and he’s doing a really good job. I hope he did not spend that money on eagles.”
Sean: “He said they’re territorial and they’ve actually pulled him off the ground before.”
Saquon: “Yeah, I mean he’s a small human being and the eagles are really strong animals so I really wouldn’t be surprised. But if that’s real, I think I got to go meet them. I think I got to spend some time with them. Got to take a picture with Saquon for sure.”
To see more, watch the full episode of Hot Ones featuring Saquon Barkley here:
