E-A-G-L-E-S
Submitted by dtomko on Tue, 2006-09-05 22:36.E-A-G-L-E-S
U-S-A
From coast to coast, Bird flu is spreading
By Joe Student
Philly EDGE Editor
Birds migrate; so do Eagles fans.
They have flown in all directions, establishing nests in places as far off as Portland, Oregon, Tampa and Los Angeles.
Credit the prevalence of NFL Ticket, the satellite football package that allows fans to follow their favorite team regardless of the city in which they reside, for helping both sustain and grow the Birds’ fan base inside, and outside, of the Delaware Valley.
Appearances in four consecutive NFC Championship Games didn’t hurt either.
So, as you and your friends are singing “Fly Eagles Fly” from Morrisville to Bryn Mawr and from Doylestown to
On the eve of the 2006 season, meet some of the more notable members of “Eagles Nation.”
East
It’s not that unusual to find an Eagles fan in New Jersey- you do notice those cars heading east across the bridges after the home games, right?
But unlike the South Jersey Birds fans, the Philadelphia Eagles Club of Hoboken (www.philly2hoboken.com) meets weekly at Mulligan's Bar (
The club was founded by Sean Iaquinto, 34, who grew up in Tanyard Farms in Richboro, Bucks County, from 1975-1984.
The group stemmed out of a lifelong connection that Sean had with the Eagles. It was one of the few things he and his late father, Frank Iaquinto, had in common. They witnessed the Eagles’ famous “Miracle at the Meadowlands” victory together in 1978.
After his dad died of cancer in 2004, Sean started the club.
“After (my father’s) death prior to the 2004 season (Aug. 23), I wanted to have a bar to watch the Eagles with the sound on, and bring together other Philly fans from the Hoboken area. I found a new bar that didn't have a huge Sunday crowd, spoke to the owner and they agreed to show the Birds each Sunday,” Iaquinto said.
Prior to founding the club, Iaquinto said that he and a dozen other Hoboken-based Eagles fans he knew at the time had a hard time seeing the Birds’ games.
“We were treated like second-class citizens even when the Giants and Jets weren't on.”
The club caught on fast.
“We just started with word-of-mouth to other Eagle fans - I would see people on the street wearing a Phillies hat and say, ‘Hey, you from Philly?’ …Our first game we had like 25 people. Second game it grew to 40. Then more and more came, by mid-season we had 70 Eagle fans in the bar,” Iaquinto said, adding that he now has more than 200 people on his email list. He said approximately 90 members come to watch each game…in a bar that often holds 70 people.
People from around Hoboken are familiar with the club, whose members beat their hands on the bar and sing "Fly Eagles Fly” after every Eagles touchdown.
“Someone came up to me and said, ‘I watch the game at a bar down the street and I could hear you guys singing ‘Fly Eagles Fly’ from there.’ Our crew is very loud, we cheer and sing. If people don't like that, they really shouldn't come hang out with us,” Iaquinto said.
Given the rep of Eagles fans, and the close proximity to Giants Stadium, are there ever, uh…700 Level-type problems?
“Every once in a blue moon you get a Giants fan who had too much to drink…But when you have 90 Eagle fans standing there, it’s never much of a problem.”
Iaquinto said the members of his club are as dedicated as those who make the trek to the Linc each week.
“We all share a common bond - Philadelphia. There is so much that we miss about our hometown, and we share not only the passion of the sport, but also the passion of what it is to be a Philadelphian.”
South
When the Eagles are ready to kick off their 2006 season in Houston against the Texans on Sunday, some fans will see it as a HOME game.
Like Craig Conner, a member of the Houston Eagles Nest fan group.
The 30-year-old
“I remember going to the Christiana Mall to see the Eagles Cheerleaders when I was a small kid,” Conner said.
After stops in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, he landed in Texas in 2003.
The Houston Eagles Nest started soon after that when Conner and two others met via an Eagles online message board. Similarly-named organizations exist in other places, including Dallas.
“We started out with three people at a sports bar, then we moved on to a Philly cheesesteak bar called Jake’s Philly Steaks. We currently have 28 members but we are expecting to be at around 40 for Week 2. Maybe more,” Conner said.
While most of the members are expatriates from the Tri-State area, the Houston Eagles Nest has won over a few converts, who gleefully join the Nest members in their rituals, which include rubbing the heads of Eagle bobblehead dolls for good luck and singing the Fight Song.
“(Member) Randall is from Spring,
Houston Eagles Nest history was particularly gratifying.
“Being in Dallas in 2004 for a Cowboy beating and a third of Texas Stadium being Midnight Green was PRICELESS… We have had some scuffles with the Dallas fans. They love to throw out the ‘five rings’ thing at us when they lose.”
This Saturday, the Houston Eagles Nest is hosting an Eagles Rally at Jake’s to get amped up for Sunday’s clash with the hometown Texans.
Conner can’t wait.
“We are tailgating at 8 a.m. in the maroon lot and then going to the game. We have been looking forward to this game since the Nest began in 2003.”
In addition to Houston, Florida is also a haven for displaced Eagles fans with a near-rivalry erupting over which fan club has the most loyal, largest and best Birds fans.
Philly of the South
Founded in 1995, this crew of 200-250 fans meets weekly at The Bull Ring (1241 East Fowler Ave. Tampa, FL; 813.866.8386) - and that’s University of South Florida Bulls not Greg Luzinski.
Tampadelphia
Great name and great support. This fan club also meets in Tampa, which despite the Buccaneers (and maybe because of them) has become a hub of Eagles fan activity.
Orlando Eagles
A new club to the Florida Eagles movement. Founder Shawn Casey is hoping to bring Eagles fans together weekly at his Wing Shack Restaurant and Bar (Conway Road and East Michigan Street, Orlando, FL) for beers, football and wings, which were voted Best In Orlando by Orlando Weekly.
“My father, a season ticket holder in Philly from 1961 to 1977, took me to many games as a kid and my love for the Eagles has never wavered since I moved to
Famous Philly’s (5901 South Ridgewood Avenue, Port Orange, FL; 386.767.6338)
is a destination for Eagles fans in the Volusia and
West
On fall Sundays, most local Eagles fans are ready for the game to start by 10 a.m. anyway.
On the West Coast they have no choice.
This Sunday, as they have for the past 13 years, members of The Eagles Nest (www.eaglesnestpdx.com) fan club will meet in Portland, Oregon at J.B. O'Briens Pub (11555 SW Durham Road, Tigard; 503.624.6891).
The 1 p.m. (E.T.) Sunday start of the 2006 Eagles season means that the Nest members will have breakfast with the Birds. Again.
The Shack Restaurant & Bar
(2518 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA; 310.449.1171) www.shacksm.com
Who says L.A. doesn’t have a football team? Near the center of oh-so-hip West Los Angeles is The Shack, which hosts East Coast transplants, and West Coast converts, every Eagles gameday. Natch, cheesesteaks are prominently featured on the menu.
The shack is operated by Pat Good, a Delaware County native.
The Desert Eagles’ Nest
This fan organization based just outside of Phoenix (hey, would you root for the Cardinals?) was founded in 2003. It meets weekly at The Upper Deck Sports Grill (4224 N. Craftsman Court, Scottsdale, AZ) to root for the Birds.
North
Though the long, cold snowy winters certainly haven’t enticed many Philadelphians to relocate to the Northern states, according to a handy homemade Comcast page “Places to Watch Philadelphia Eagles Games” http://home.comcast.net/~tdgryn/eaglesbar.html there are several bars where displaced Birds fans do go to make a stand among the Bears, Packers and Lions supporters.
Spectadium
Livernois Ave. Troy, MI
Given the prominence of NFL Ticket, it’s not hard to find the Eagles game on TV, but according to a post on the aforementioned Eagles page, a few Eagles fans in the region do gather weekly to feed on the Birds in Troy.
