BUCKS COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KYW) -- When the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 Super Bowl, Michael and Tina Walp made a pact: if the Eagles made it back, they would be there.
"Mike and I had a huge party," Tina Walp said. "And as soon as the game was over, Mike said, 'If the Eagles ever make the Super Bowl again, it's on my bucket list to go.'"
They planned to follow through on that promise together. But last year brought devastating news.
"He was diagnosed with ALS – it's Lou Gehrig's disease. He fell ill pretty quickly," Tina Walp said.
Michael Walp, a former military police officer who also served in law enforcement in Bucks County for more than four decades, died five months after his diagnosis in October.
"We were all by his side. But I knew the things that we both wanted to do together," Tina Walp said.
So when the Eagles secured a rematch against the Chiefs in this year's Super Bowl, she knew what she had to do.
"I said, 'What better game to go to than the redemption game?' I went right on the computer and I booked it with Philly Sports Trips," she said.
Tina Walp admitted she was nervous to attend the game alone, but she felt Michael was with her.
"I keep his ring on me at all times, and I carry a little locket with his ashes on me," she said.
When the Eagles claimed victory on Super Bowl Sunday, Tina Walp made sure to honor Michael.
"When the confetti came down, I said, 'This is for you, Michael.' And I knew he was with me," she said.
The Eagles won their fight, and now, Tina Walp says she has one of her own.
"We're always fighting out there to try to find a cure for ALS," she said. "My husband was an amazing man."