The Journey of a Philadelphia Eagles fan: What’s your story?

Thomas Ringgaard

I guess it’s really the story of how a city 4000 miles away feels like a second home.

Coming from a small town of 10.000 people in Denmark, Europe, American Football in the US was far away. However, a small group of local kids decided it was fun and started up a small team back in 2004 – “The Ringkøbing Eagles”. Yup, that was our team name.

After playing for a year or two, we started watching NFL games. I remember specifically watching the Eagles playing the Cowboys on Christmas day in 2006, where Eagles’ 23-7 victory clinched a playoff spot. The following week, Cowboys lost to the Lions and clinched the NFC East for the Eagles. That was a time where I started to get emotionally attached the Eagles in a big way.

That combination of getting an extra itch, being extra emotional when watching the Eagles, combined with feeling disgust with Dallas gave it away for me – I was an Eagles fan. From there, the madness attachment steadily grew.

The next big step came in 2015, where I packed my stuff and went on a 3-week trip to US to watch the birds. First game was the horrific home opener against the Cowboys – you know, the game where Murray had 13 carries for 2 yards and the only TD game in garbage time.

With that being said, it was the best time ever, spending time with Eagles fans at the tailgate, feeling the vibe in the city, and the unconditional hard-nosed love for the team.

I later went to New York and saw them play the Jets, followed by Washington to see them play the Redskins. The latter was a fun game, unfortunately ending in Cousins driving down the field for a game winning TD to Garcon to make it 23-20. It was a fun game though, and I almost got into a fight with a terrible human being of a Redskins fan.

My fandom peaked in 2018, where my girlfriend and I spontaneously decided to go to Philly for the Super Bowl. I was in med. school still and couldn’t afford Super Bowl tickets, so on to Philadelphia it was. The atmosphere when the team FINALLY won, the

party on Broad street, the parade, the relief. It was incredible.

From randomly naming the team of my tiny hometown “The Eagles” to celebrating the Super Bowl in Philadelphia, it has always been in the cards. Philadelphia Eagles is a lifestyle. Philadelphia is a home.

Liam Jenkins

Many of you will know my story already, but for those that don’t, here we go. I was 14-years old and after months of begging for an Xbox 360, I finally got one for my birthday. The only game it came with? A copy of Madden NFL 09. I had no idea what Madden was, or who he was. But I played it because it was all I had and gradually fell in love with the sport. I randomly selected a team to start a franchise with and it just so happened to be the Eagles.

I wanted to follow the sport that next year and I was never really the popular kid at school, so I started going to the Library on my lunch break to watch NFL.com top-10’s and highlight videos. I was obsessed. I fell in love with the culture of the city, the grittiness, the fact that it was Philly vs the world and if you’re not with us, we really don’t care. I felt part of something for the first time in my life.

The miracle in the meadowlands II will always go down as one of my favorite memories. I remember trying to tell my friends who exciting it was, the most unthinkable comeback imaginable…but it’s hard when they don’t understand nor care about the sport.

I purchased NFL Gamepass that next season, just in time for the collapse of the Andy Reid era. For me, following this team became a way of life. Something that has since become my life (Philly Sports Network.) It’s more than just football. It’s everything.

‘We did it!’. I’ll never forget that moment just after that hail mary pass fell incomplete during Super Bowl 52. I was sat on FaceTime to someone who had followed my work closely from day one and had become a friend. I was bawling my eyes out while he and his family were jubilated, jumping around the room in complete euphoria. That one moment will stay with me forever as it showed me, a then 22-year old writer who spent four years covering the team from England, just how much it meant to those living in the City of Brotherly Love.

That group of men, that group of underdogs who were doubted by the world, ripped away a chunk of one of the sport’s greatest dynasties and that can never be erased. They did it. It was the most surreal feeling possible. I felt like I had, in many ways, embarked on that journey with the team…and my inner fan bled out uncontrollably.

I sat in my Living room at 5 AM, trying to write up a game report I never thought I’d write. I didn’t want to sleep, I couldn’t. I didn’t want to wake up from this impossible dream. I’d never really supported a sports team that won anything of relevance before but to spend as many hours as humanly possible during my most important years going all-in on Philly Sports Network,I was convinced I would now truly bleed green…well, at least my hair was Green for a few weeks after. But the less said about that, the better.

And now here we are. Ready to go through it all over again. The Eagles have given me a place to belong…even if they are 5,300 miles away.

Those are our stories, Eagles fan. What are yours? As we prep for the first game of the season tomorrow, let us all come together and strengthen what already is the best fan base in the world.

Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

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