Back in the summer of 2015, at the height of the Drake and Meek Mill beef, the Philadelphia Eagles surprised some people when they collectively suggested they weren’t necessarily siding with their hometown rapper in the squabble. While it’s impossible to say how many Eagles players were #TeamDrake back then versus how many were #TeamMeek, the team as a whole seemed to be bigger fans of Drake’s "Charged Up" and "Back to Back" disses than Meek’s "Wanna Know" response. At least, that’s what most people thought after hearing what the Eagles were listening to at the start of training camp that season.
Meek didn’t let that apparent lack of support stop him from showing love to his beloved Eagles, though. While we doubt he was thrilled to hear about his favorite football team bumping the diss track his rap rival put together to try and discredit him, Meek was spotted at an Eagles game that same season.
Meek also continued to show his love for the team from a distance. Even though the Eagles ended up going 7-9 during the 2016 season and finishing in last place in the NFC East, Meek stuck with them and often took to social media to provide his support.
That support has come back around. While there’s no denying that plenty of Eagles players have been riding with Meek despite what the Drake shenanigans back in 2015 may have suggested, several of them took their Meek support to a whole other level in 2017.
In November, Meek was sentenced to two to four years behind bars on account of a probation violation. Many both inside and outside of Philly thought the prison sentence was completely bogus and protested against it, and several Eagles players were among the crowd that showed up to a Meek rally in Philly in late November. Malcolm Jenkins, Torrey Smith, Jalen Mills, Wendell Smallwood, and Vinny Curry were all in attendance.
And now, it appears as though the Eagles are prepared to take Meek with them all the way to the Super Bowl.
Over the weekend, as the Eagles prepared to play the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, several players posted videos of a team meeting. In that meeting, "Dreams and Nightmares"—one of the best intro tracks in rap history and one of Meek’s most memorable hip-hop contributions—played in the background and kept what could have been a tension-filled situation light. It almost looked like the players were at a party as opposed to a practice.
"Dreams and Nightmares" also served as the pregame warmup music of choice for the Eagles as they took the field at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. At one point during warmups, Meek’s classic track blared over the stadium’s speakers as both those on the field and those in the stands lost their minds. Several Eagles players later said it was one of the loudest moments they can remember inside of "The Linc."
The Eagles didn’t stop there. They also turned to "Dreams and Nightmares" one more time in the team's locker room after stomping all over the Vikings and earning a berth to Super Bowl LII. The Eagles also played some Lil Yachty, seemingly in an effort to troll the Vikings, but they saved their real celebration for once "Dreams and Nightmares" came on. Smallwood documented Eagles players rapping along to every word of the song with Meek.
So how did "Dreams and Nightmares" become the unofficial anthem of the Eagles? According to Jenkins, it wasn’t just the players who were on board with spending most of the weekend listening to the song. On Monday morning, Jenkins revealed it was actually the Eagles’ special teams coach of all people who first put the track on during the meeting on Saturday. Dave Fipp played "Dreams and Nightmares," and from there, it served as the perfect soundtrack for the Eagles’ championship weekend.
Meek—or at least, Meek’s team—appreciated the love. While Meek hasn’t been able to put out any kind of official statement regarding the Eagles advancing to the Super Bowl, the videos of the Eagles playing "Dreams and Nightmares" this weekend surfaced on his Instagram page on Monday morning.
And since the clips of the Eagles listening to the song started making the rounds on social media, the calls for #FreeMeek have intensified greatly. Many Eagles fans have called for Meek to be released so that he can perform "Dreams and Nightmares" either at the Super Bowl or after the Super Bowl, if the Eagles win.
One fan even went as far as to suggest Meek should replace Justin Timberlake as this year’s Super Bowl halftime performer.
The chances of that happening are obviously slim to none (OK, maybe just "none"). But even if Meek doesn't get to celebrate with the Eagles, it’s been cool to see the Eagles take Meek along with them on their journey, and if they are ultimately able to knock off the Patriots in the Super Bowl, there’s no doubt they’re going to continue to keep Meek with them every step of the way.
