By Arianna Guyer / USF Z News
TAMPA – A group of enthusiastic Philadelphia Eagles’ fans cheered for their team at local restaurant, Tampa Joe’s, for a playoff game on Jan. 19, hundreds of miles away from their home base in Philadelphia.
For former Philly residents, this restaurant is a hidden gem and a home away from home. It used to be the hangout spot for New England Patriots fans called Boston’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. When management changed, Philly culture took over – Eagles’ championship banners, team merchandise, and city fanatics that bonded at the watch parties over delicious food and games.
Most of Tampa Joe’s customers are fans from the Facebook group, Philly of the South Fan Club. Charles Kline, the president of the group, created the club in 1995 with friends, starting with 17 members and now has a community of over 3,500 members.
Kline is responsible for buying prizes for the raffles, treasury and keeping the peace within the fan club. He values this special group because “there is nothing like this anywhere else” and “it’s a great release on a Sunday afternoon.”
The Eagles played against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs. Fans watched excitedly as their football team scored multiple touchdowns throughout the game.
Philadelphia beat Los Angeles by 6 points with a final score of 28-22. Despite being total strangers, fans jumped up and down and hugged each other to celebrate the victory.
Alex De La Cruz, Eagles’ fan, shared what his first experience at Tampa Joe’s was like. “It was great to watch a game with so many like-minded fans in a great atmosphere,” said De La Cruz. “My favorite thing was how welcoming Tampa Joe’s was to Eagles fans.”
The restaurant walls are covered in Eagles-themed decorations, the servers wear the team’s jerseys and it offers specials for certain food items on game days. Tampa Joe’s goal is to welcome in all Eagles fans and they have done exactly that.
Kline and De La Cruz are from the Philadelphia area and later moved to Tampa but their loyalty stays with Philly. Tampa Joe’s brings the Philadelphia atmosphere to fans who are far from their home team.
Since this gathering, the Eagles won all of their playoff games and made their way to Super Bowl LIX to face the Kansas City Chiefs and came out with a dominating win. Almost 700 miles away from New Orleans where the Super Bowl was held, the energy from Tampa Joe’s was through the roof. The fans were excited, rowdy, and proud watching this big win. Complete strangers chanted and sang their victory song in unison, bonding over the success of their team.
“It felt like I was back in PA watching the game at a local bar,” said De La Cruz.