Super Bowl Opening Night 2018: Best Moments and Twitter Reaction from Media Day

Before the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles face each other during Sunday's Super Bowl in Minneapolis, they had to face hundreds of media members in Monday's opening night.

The Patriots players and coaches took to the podiums first as experienced professionals looking to win their third Super Bowl in the last four years. For as wild and entertaining as Super Bowl media day typically is every year, this is nothing new for the majority of the Patriots' core, having experienced sustained success for so long.

After all, Tom Brady-Bill Belichick was still the quarterback-coach combination all the way back in 2005 when New England beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Philadelphia, however, is looking for its first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history and will have to go through the bullies on the block to get it. Seeing the Eagles on opening night is a relatively new experience for many NFL fans.

With that in mind, here is a look at some of the memorable moments and reaction from media day.

Patriots Portion

The first thing to jump out when the Patriots took the stage was the fact Brady had a glove on his right hand after Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported the quarterback had the 12 stitches he played with in the AFC Championship Game removed:

Those stitches didn't stop him from throwing two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to overcome a double-digit deficit in the comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

NFL Network's Willie McGinest did his best to discover the status of the thumb when he asked Brady to thumb wrestle during an interview. Brady also revealed coming to the Super Bowl never gets old and he doesn't see the Eagles as underdogs during the discussion:

As to be expected, No. 12 drew a massive crowd:

Belichick drew a big crowd as well, and he talked about what it will be like to coach against Doug Pederson, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk: "Very aggressive, well-balanced, uses a lot of personnel, all the receivers, all the tight ends, all the backs. He's done a great job, and it's a good offense, and they've got good players, they're well-coached and he does a great job calling plays."

It wasn't all serious with Belichick, as Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel Live! did what he could to bolster the smile counter:

"Man, I have no idea," Brady said when asked how to make the coach smile, per Chris Wesseling of NFL.com. "Navy. Lacrosse. Lawrence Taylor. Bon Jovi. Those four."

While Brady and Belichick generated plenty of attention, Danny Amendola turned some heads by catching both touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Jaguars. He reflected on how his team continues to mount comebacks on the biggest stages and revealed why he still has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to his Super Bowl opponent:

The Patriots continue to make those comebacks and dominate the NFL landscape, which apparently sits better with owner Robert Kraft than the other teams:

This being Super Bowl media day, there were also the light-hearted and downright strange moments of the evening, including talks of Brandin Cooks' nickname, reporters dressed as sharks and underdogs (like the Philadelphia crowds in reference to their status as underdogs these playoffs), and the solving of a Rubik's Cube.

If the Eagles are as easy to figure out as the cube, the Patriots will be well on their way to another title.

Eagles Portion

When the Eagles took the stage, there was some audible booing from the football fans in Minneapolis after they beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game:

Philadelphia fans, however, had a cold-blooded response waiting in the wings:

Pederson turned heads with his casual apparel, while the players were all quite busy on their phones at the start of the Eagles portion of the evening:

All eyes will be away from phones and on Nick Foles come Sunday when he is tasked with beating Brady in a quarterback showdown on the sport's biggest stage. While Brady is arguably the best signal-caller in NFL history, Foles has been something of a journeyman even though he threw 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 2013 with the Eagles.

He played for the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and is only leading the Eagles now because of Carson Wentz's ACL tear. That didn't stop him from torching the Vikings for 352 passing yards and three touchdowns, and he discussed his journey to this point with NFL Network:

Replicating his NFC Championship Game performance would put Foles on the short list of Super Bowl legends, not that Fletcher Cox would know anything about that:

Cox also had fun at the mascot's expense:

Speaking of mascots, it wouldn't have been an Eagles event in this postseason without an appearance from their unofficial mascot mask:

While many in Philadelphia have embraced the dog masks, Chris Long will have to come to terms with a new tattoo of linebackers coach Ken Flajole if his team wins Sunday: 

The most notable moment of the Eagles' turn on stage came when United States women's national soccer team member Julie Ertz—who is a World Cup champion and soccer superstar but also the wife of Eagles tight end Zach Ertz—had the chance to interview her husband.

Ertz revealed tacos are his favorite food she makes and that he is simply trying to keep up inside the household after she won a World Cup:

Keeping up will require the Eagles beating the Patriots at the Super Bowl, something Philadelphia wasn't able to do in the 2005 meeting. It will likely need memorable showings from Foles, Ertz, Cox and many more if it is going to unseat the champs.