Brandon Brooks didn't waste any time getting acclimated to his new city a year ago.
Brooks joined the Eagles last March, signing as a free agent after four years with the Houston Texans. He inked a five-year deal to become the Eagles' starting right guard.
He connected with Eagles fans on his Twitter account, asking for restaurant suggestions, taking photos of things that are unique to Philadelphia, and even talking trash to Cowboys fans.
It should come as no surprise then that Brooks attended an Eagles fan's wedding on Saturday.
Back in January, Geoff Lane wrote a letter to Brooks to invite him to his nuptials. Lane is a die-hard Eagles fan who grew up in the Delaware Valley and now lives in Washington D.C. He graduated from Brooks' alma mater, Miami of Ohio, which is where he met his bride, Marni.
"Throughout your first year in Philadelphia you have demonstrated what it means to be a Miamian and an Eagle," Lane wrote. "You continually exhibit the love, honor, resilience, and toughness that make Miamians and Philadelphians such special people. We hope you will consider joining us on our wedding day."
It didn't take long for Brooks to say yes.
"Got the letter, opened it, noticed it was a Miami alum," Brooks said on Monday at the NovaCare Complex. "Why not?"
Brooks flew into Cincinnati on Friday, and attended the wedding on Saturday which was held on the university's campus.
"Beautiful chapel. Beautiful ceremony," Brooks said.
What was the groom's reaction?
"He was like, 'I didn't think you were going to show up. I'm impressed you showed up,'" Brooks said.
Brooks talked with the family members, posed for photos, and spent time with a number of Eagles fans from a group called The Cheesesteaks out of D.C. But if you were expecting anything out of the movie, Wedding Crashers, think again.
"I didn't do any dances," Brooks said. "Honestly, just being there, to see the vows before God, a lifelong deal, to get invited was the coolest thing for me."
Brooks is surprised at the amount of attention he has received as a result of simply going to a wedding.
"That's probably the craziest thing to me, it became so much more. I'm no different than anybody else. I'm honored that he wrote me the letter and invited me to the ceremony," Brooks said.
"A lot of times, because of who we are, we get put on this pedestal. Sometimes, we even believe that we're larger than life. At the end of the day, we put our clothes on like everyone else."
Brooks does realize that he expects to be invited to more events in the future. In fact, a fan on Twitter has already asked him to attend a charity benefit, and Brooks said he'll likely go.
"Fans pay their hard-earned money to come to the games and watch us play. Beyond watching us play, we need to reach out to the community, get more involved in the community, for whatever cause you choose to believe in," Brooks said. "It's extremely important to me, especially in Philly where Eagles football is so important and people really love their players.
"You never know, just saying hi to someone on the street can change a person's day. Just talking to people, not getting caught up in being an Eagles football player. One day this is going to be over, this is going to be behind me, and I'm going to be a regular person. A lot of times athletes get lost once they get done. By reaching out into the community, planning a future after this, I think is really important."
