Every fan has a journey. Every fan has those one or two moments that made them say "yeah, this is my team." We at Philly Sports Network want to kick off the season with giving you our journeys. Four of the Eagles writers, Chris Infante, Bryan Cameron, Thomas Ringgaard, and our foundER Liam Jenkins share their stories with you, and we invite you to share your stories with us.
Chris Infante
It was January 27th, 2002, I was a 12 year old (a month and a half away from 13) living in the Bronx. I had gone over to my best friend's house to watch something called the NFC Championship game.
I had NO idea what this was about, the only football I was ever exposed to was the street football my friends and I played against the older kids on a closed off street. The kind that had kids being tackled into the buildings along the side of the road. I never even thought to watch football outside of the one I saw on the street.
Most boys that age had picked favorite teams already, most of them being the Giants, because of their fathers. My father was always on duty as an NYPD officer, so I never really got to watch football with him. (I'm NOT complaining, I am grateful everyday that he was out there protecting his family and others).
But there I was sitting on a bed in front of a TV next to my best friend, who was a big time St. Louis Rams fan. "You're rooting for the Rams, right?" he asked me. At that moment I remembered all of the kids who had criticized us for always doing the same things together and liking the same stuff, so I turned to him and said "nah, I hope the Eagles win."
The rest is history. It was that moment that made me who I am today. This started a whirlwind of anger and joy filling me up season after season. A passion for these Eagles that will never be beaten by another sports team.
It began my hatred for the Patriots after Super Bowl 39.
It had me questioning the team after they TIED a 1-8 Cincinnati Bengals in 2008. I was driving back to college during this game and I get a phone call "YO! THEY F'N TIED!" Then I questioned McNabb's intelligence after admitting that he didn't know a tie could happen.
It led to me sitting on the living room floor of my parents house sulking when the Eagles were down 31-10 with 8:17 to play in the game against the Giants on December 19th, 2010. I was receiving countless texts and calls from my Giants friends. I ignored them all, why would I entertain those trolls?
It led to me screaming "GO! GO! GO!" during DeSean Jackson's punt return of that same game, prompting my mother to run downstairs and check on me because she thought I was shot. It also led to no one returning my texts or phone calls after the game, hypocrites.
All that passion led to me crying with my wife after they finally did it. They finally won the Super Bowl, which led to us going to the parade and being sardines in front of the Art Museum and being front and center for all the speeches. Worth it.
Now this. It's here. The 2019 season is upon us. It's time to expect greatness Eagles fans. Expect greatness every year. Fly Eagles Fly.
Bryan Cameron
I’ve been an Eagles fan since the early 2000s. Now, if you’re from Northern New Jersey, people expect you to be a Giants fan; fortunately, I was never one to go along with the tide.
Cue the irony, The first NFL game I ever saw was the Giants vs Eagles, the moment I saw McNabb scrambling behind the line of scrimmage intrigued me enough to turn me into a fan. As the years passed, my fandom continued to grow but it wasn’t until November 2016, where my fandom was preparing to make a leap into “die-hard fan” status. I was driving to work one day, currently in Carson Wentz’ rookie season, when I received a call from my wife. She was hysterically crying and I couldn’t understand why. I'm sure everything was fine when I left the house, she was getting ready for work when I left and there’s no way I took the wrong keys. I asked her, “what's wrong?” as my mind was flying everywhere waiting for her to respond. She followed by saying, “I’m pregnant!”. I couldn’t help but laugh with joy, so I asked her, “isn’t this a good thing? Her exact response: “I don’t know!”
Of course it was great news, we were trying to have a baby for a while now but of course, it happened the moment we stopped trying. Just our luck. That moment, I knew that my child would be an Eagles fan just like their father despite my wife’s family being Giants fans. It was my only request to my wife, she agreed. Now, I know you’re wondering where all this is going and if you’ve listened to our podcast, Flippin the Birds, then you may already know. The day we went to find out what gender our baby was, our doctor hesitated as he stared at the ultrasound images. He looked at us with a serious face and with an emotionless response, he shared some news with us.
The first was that we were having a girl! The next was a nightmare to any pending parents’ ears. She has Spina Bifida, she may be brain dead and paralyzed, she will most likely have no quality of life and as young parents, you should really consider abortion because you can try again. Heartbreaking was an understatement, but I remember looking towards my wife and gazing into her eyes. At that moment I knew she was ready to fight for our daughter, as was I.
Here comes Philadelphia. The Eagles had a disappointing season that year but like my situation, they were getting ready to walk in their victory. My wife received a call from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and they gave us the hope we needed. We prayed for my daughter constantly as the doctors continued to educate us on her “disability”. At the time, the Eagles had just signed Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. So I used the team to help keep my mind distracted from any negative thoughts and it worked. I spent countless days at the Eagles Pro Shop in Cherry Hill, NJ, buying baby clothes and hats for myself. It was the perfect fix for me. I had to do all I could to be strong for my wife and my unborn daughter. My wife had to spend 3-4 months on a hospital bed in Philly due to being high risk. As time passed, July 28th finally arrived. My daughter was here, the most beautiful person I’ve ever set my eyes on finally made her grand entrance. Riley Nicole Cameron was finally here.
The timing of it all was remarkable. Although my baby had several surgeries in her first year of life, she found ways to come out stronger no matter the obstacle that stood in front of her. It was crazy how things were rolling. The team was bulldozing their way through the NFL while my daughter was bulldozing her through Spina Bifida's expectations. It all just felt so meant to be, so how could this fairy tale end?? How about with a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots on February 4th, 2017, sprinkled with the fact that my daughter was there to witness it, and topped with another fact, February 4th is my birthday. 2017 escalated my fandom for the Eagles which led me here to PSN. Now I write and talk with Eagles fans who are just as invested as I am. A brotherhood built for a guy like me.
Continued on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
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
