Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown turned some heads on Sunday when cameras caught him engaging in one of the quirkier sideline rituals ever caught on an NFL broadcast.
No, it wasn’t some over-the-top calisthenics or crazy stretching routing. Brown was simply reading a book in the middle of the Eagles’ Wild Card round game against the Green Bay Packers.
“I haven’t seen too many people read books. But I’ve seen a quarterback eat a hot dog.” – Tom Brady πποΈππ #NFL pic.twitter.com/t3KxDqCUXS
β Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 13, 2025
Apparently this is something the star wide receiver does every drive. The act just hadn’t been caught on camera until Sunday.
I asked AJ Brown if he was frustrated on the sideline while reading a book during a playoff game.
He laughed and said he just likes to read. pic.twitter.com/F2hbB9uZOl
β Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) January 13, 2025
Brown then took to social media to further explain himself. No, he wasn’t reading because he was frustrated by a lack of targets.
This game is 90% mental and 10% physical for me. I bring it to every game and I read it between each drive. I use it to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game good or bad. People tend to create controversy when they donβt know the truth. pic.twitter.com/73XaOZEkmW
β AJ BROWN (@1kalwaysopen_) January 13, 2025
Now, fans are embracing Brown’s bizarre sideline ritual. According to Jacob Feldman of Sportico, the book in question, Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life, has jumped from 552,709th on Amazon’s Best Sellers list all the way to No. 1.
And on Monday morning, even some local Philadelphia news anchors got in on the fun. Alex Holley and Mike Jerrick, co-hosts of Good Day Philly, opened their show with copies of Inner Excellence in hand.
Much like A.J. Brown did on Sunday, ‘Good Day Philadelphia’ got in some light reading while on the clock. pic.twitter.com/IN7zP5rGtq
β Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 13, 2025
The duo really bought into the bit, acting so enthralled by the contents of the book they forgot they were live on-air. They even had their highlighters out, given Brown had similarly annotated his copy of the book.
“I think this is the most read book in Philadelphia,” Holley quipped after finally breaking character. “Well, Jim Murphy is one of my favorite authors,” Jerrick responded.
Let’s just say if the Eagles decide to make a Super Bowl run this season, this book will become gospel in the City of Brotherly Love.