Photo Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports

Before this season, a real-life bald eagle would occasionally make appearances at Eagles home games by flying over the field during the National Anthem. That eagle is named Challenger (above), which is an awesome name for an eagle. But this season, the Eagles have partnered with the Elmwood Park Zoo to bring their bald eagle, Noah, to all home games for pictures, meet and greets, and some beautiful, terrifying, American nobility.

But Noah, whose name is not as cool as Challenger, has had a rough go of things, because in the NFL, even the live-animal mascots have a history of brain injuries. According to the Norristown Times Herald:

Noah is a 13-year-old bald eagle that is in the possession of the Elmwood Park Zoo by the authority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At just 8 weeks old he suffered an 80 ft fall that left him with permanent brain and eye injuries. He spent several years in a rehabilitation facility before arriving at the Elmwood Park Zoo in 2008.

Yikes. We can only assume that Noah will be a better and less risky addition to the Eagles family than the brain damaged horse was to the Griffin family. In fact, he has already been at home games this season, and he will continue to hang out in HeadHouse Plaza for pictures before kickoff and his on-field appearance.

No word on if Noah is subject to ImPACT tests before taking to the sky above the Linc, but just look at how excited and/or horrified he is:

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So excited… so scared.