'World champion of what?' - Noah Lyles' famous statement reignites fans divide following Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl win

Noah Lyles and the Philadelphia Eagles

'World champion of what?' - Noah Lyles' famous statement reignites fans divide following Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl win

Funmilayo Fameso 16:53 - 12.02.2025

NFL and Football fans are divided following Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl win as Noah Lyles' famous statement 'World champions of what' resurfaces.

In the aftermath of the Philadelphia Eagles victory over the Kansas City Chiefs to win their second Super Bowl title in history, Noah Lyles' famous statement 'World champion of what?' has reignited fans divide between NFL and Football lovers.

The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs from the start in a rout that delivered the Eagles their second championship in seven seasons.

They cruised to a 40-22 victory, with the Eagles’ defense completely suffocating the Chiefs’ offense to win Super Bowl 59, and Quarterback Jalen Hurts being the star performer of the game.

Philadelphia Eagles defeated Kansas City Chiefs for 2025 Super Bowl win

Following their iconic success, the Philadelphia Eagles X page tweeted the following day: "Good morning to the World Champions."

This didn't sit well with an X user @DataFutebol, who quoted the post with the viral picture of Lyles' statement 'World champions of what?'.

As expected, the tweet has reignited divided opinions among fans on why the Philadephia Eagles should be called world champions as there's no better NFL team in the world, while others are against them earning that bragging rights as they're not the official USA national football team.

Here are some reactions below:

PAY ATTENTION: Follow Pulse Sports Athletics on all track and field related news.

"There is not a better American football team than the eagles this year, therefor world champion."

"If any country wants to put together a team, come to Philly and catch the smoke. Unless someone wants to step up, yeah, World Fucking Champions."

"An American football team lost a world championship to Japan recently. Included the link."

"It’s like calling yourself world champions after winning the euros or copa America."

"That argument is valid for the NBA since it is being ran by international players, like SGA, Wemby, Luka, and Jokic. But for the NFL, I don’t think I can name a single current international player, let alone relevant one. Maybe that’s just a lack of ball knowledge on my part."

And here are some quotes:

Noah Lyles' controversial World Champions of what statement

In 2023 after winning triple gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Lyles stirred controversy when he declared it was improper for American sports champions such as the NBA to refer to themselves as "world champions" since they only compete against US teams.

Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100m gold medal in Paris // Imago

"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States?!

"Don't get me wrong, I love the U.S., at times, but that ain't the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain't no flags in the NBA," said the reigning world's fastest man.

However, Lyles backed up his statement by saying he believes the NBA remains the best Basketball league in the world, but there needs to be clarification between the national and the world.

"To be honest, I truly think the NBA is the best. That was never the doubt. But, there is a level of not understanding the two sides of sports. There's the national side and there's the world side, and you can't have the world championship title without facing the rest of the world."

Noah Lyles getting online backlash after his audacious statement

Following his statement, he received several online backlash from NBA fans, players, and even music star Drake who said: "He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before… now the whole league doesn’t rate u.”

In an ironic twist of event, the multiple-track champion had the evidence to invalidate the shots fired at him as Team USA unexpectedly lost to Germany 113-111 in the semifinal of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and fans started calling for the NBA players to apologise to him.

Tags: