Students were invited to wear black and green to support Nick Sirianni, a 1999 Southwestern Central School graduate, as Sirianni’s Philadelphia Eagles prepare for the team’s second Super Bowl in three years. Nick Sirianni was a three-sport athlete for the Trojans and was a Post-Journal All-Star in basketball, All-League in football and a Section VI qualifier in track.

Sirianni’s brother Jay is a teacher and coach at Southwestern.

“Kids ask questions this and that but we are in a school where most of the students here are Bills fans,” Sirianni told Erica Carlson, an Erie-2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES public relations employee, on Thursday.

“There’s a lot of people that are excited for the Eagles just because they don’t like the Chiefs. But there’s faculty members and students who ask questions. I get it as a Bills fan. It would’ve been pretty cool if it was the Bills-Eagles.”

Jay Sirianni, a Southwestern Central School social studies teacher and coach, is pictured with his daughter Gianna and a fellow student wearing Eagles gear on Thursday. Photo by Emily Carlson

The atmosphere around Southwestern has been a little more subdued this year than two years ago when Nick Sirianni and the Eagles made their first Super Bowl trip. But Nick Sirianni has still found ways to support the Southwestern football team, and Fran Sirianni, patriarch of the Sirianni family and himself a Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame member, said the Southwestern community has always been supportive of the school’s athletes and activities – whether it’s a road game in Lackawanna or an alumni preparing for the Super Bowl. Amy Sirianni, Fran’s wife, thanked the community for its support – and temporary switch from red and blue Bills’ colors to the Eagles’ black and green.

“We’re just really thankful to the community for all the support. We really appreciate it and thank them very much from the bottom of our hearts.” she said.

Nick Sirianni is seeking his first Super Bowl win in a season when some in Philadelphia wanted the Southwestern product fired mid-season before the Eagles took off behind running back Saquon Barkley and a stingy defense. Jay Sirianni said members of the Sirianni family plan to watch the game together.

“Hopefully watch the Eagles win. We are just going to enjoy the moment, being down there as a family and enjoy the experience together and hopefully the Eagles can get it done this year,” Jay Sirianni said.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ logo is pictured on an electronic billboard outside Southwestern Middle School on Thursday. Photo by Emily Carlson

Southwestern students wearing Eagles gear are pictured with a banner hanging in a hallway at Southwestern Central School on Thursday. Photo by Erica Carlson