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Philadelphia fans have a reputation as perhaps the worst in the US.
But truth be told, that’s entirely overblown.
Are Philadelphians hard on their teams and athletes? Sure. But it’s almost always in the interest of wanting those teams and athletes to succeed.
In all honestly, Philadelphia fans may well be the best in the country. Just ask Philadelphia Phillies superstar Trea Turner.
But ask just about anybody Philadelphia fan and they’ll all tell you the same thing. The city of Philadelphia loves all its teams, but it’s the Philadelphia Eagles who stand above all else.
It’s why “Go Birds” had become the Philly equivalent of “Shalom” and why “E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES” chants can be heard at Eagles games, Phillies games, weddings, Bar Mitzvah’s and anything else you can think of.
Philadelphia is an Eagles town through and through. The other teams are just leasing emotional space in fans’ heads and hearts.
So it only makes sense that with the Eagles 2023 home opener on Thursday night, one fan showed his immense dedication to the team he loves.
Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m but Eagles diehard Gregg Matza was ready to go at 4:30 a.m. #GoBirds @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/fi40lTVFrX
— Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) September 14, 2023
Diehard Eagles fan Gregg Matza was the first one in the parking lots to tailgate ahead of Thursday night’s 8:15 p.m. kickoff. He got to the lots a 4:30 a.m.
Why?
We’ll let him explain.
“Just to put this t-shirt on. The kelly green Reggie White t-shirt. I had, like, chills this morning driving,” he began. “I’m thinking about the game I’m thinking about how the defense is gonna play. Are we gonna run the ball? Is Jalen Hurts gonna play better than he did last week? Because he didn’t have a Jalen Hurts game. I mean, everybody knows that.
“So they gotta clean up their mistakes, and we got a lot of injuries tonight. But DeAndre Swift, I think is really gonna step up for the birds, and (a) six-point win (is) my prediction.”
But there’s a lot of time between 4:30 a.m. and 8:15 p.m.
How does Matza plan to make it that far? He’s not concerned.
“Listen, this is what I do. I’m usually the first one down here. You go to sleep early. I went to bed early last night. You get up and you know what you got. My tickets are in the end zone. I’m in section 128. I’m right there 20 rows from the field. Why wouldn’t you wanna be down here for a game like this? This is prime time. The whole world gets to see the Eagles play. So let’s go.”
Eagles fans, man. They’re a different breed.