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NFL
Eagles fanatics catch Philly's fire
An all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl was not to be, but bay area Eagles diehards had plenty to celebrate Sunday.
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published January 24, 2005
[Times photo: Ken Helle]
From left, Jessica Difrancesco, 25, Vanessa Fox, 24, Paul Bowen, 25, and Mike Lavetsky, 25, celebrate the Eagles' NFC Championship win at Bilmar Station in Tampa on Sunday. About 300 Eagles fans convened at the bar.
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TAMPA - It was 50 degrees outside and Chuck DiLullo was standing in the open doorway of a Carrollwood bar wearing mesh shorts and a short-sleeved Donovan McNabb jersey.
"Standing here, I'm either going to catch a cold or lose my voice," he said. "And I'm rapidly doing the latter."
For the Philadelphia Eagles diehard, it was a small price to pay to be among friends as he watched his team punch a ticket to the Super Bowl.
For football fans, N Dale Mabry Highway was the place to be Sunday night. DiLullo and 300 other Eagles fans convened at Bilmar Station to watch the NFC Championship Game. A few blocks down the road, hundreds of Pittsburgh Steelers fans gathered at O'Brien's Irish Pub for the AFC Championship Game with the New England Patriots.
Even in Tampa, the prospect of the Steelers and the Eagles meeting at the Super Bowl in Jacksonville was enough to set far-flung Pennsylvanians' hearts aflutter.
"It's going to be an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl," said Steelers fan Violet Pelc shortly before Pittsburgh kicked off against the Patriots. "Jacksonville isn't going to know what hit it."
Alas, it was not to be, as the Steelers ultimately fell 41-27 to New England. Still, for fans, Sunday was a day to remember.
"Win or lose, the Steelers gave us a great, great season, and we're happy for that," said Pelc, whose husband, Walt, founded the Bay Area Black and Gold Club.
"We're all lifelong Steelers fans," said Chris Sopko, 28, "and that'll never change."
If course, the philosophizing had a more upbeat tone in the Eagles' camp.
"This team, and these fans, are the true heart and soul of the NFL," said Mike Kline, president of the Tampa Bay "Philly Of The South" Eagles fan club. "They're there win, lose or draw."
Said Tony Kres, 54: "Ever since my parents got their first TV in 1956 - one of those big 800-pound sets - I"ve been following them. It's been a wild ride the last four years. Hopefully, this is our year."
In stereotypical Philly fan fashion, one spectator booed the child who sang the national anthem.
"Punch him in the (expletive) face!" another fan screamed during one Falcons drive. "Right in his teeth!"
"It's true what they say about us," Kline deadpanned. "We do eat our children."
By game's end, though, Bilmar Station was swathed in positive vibes. When the Eagles' McNabb threw a game-clinching touchdown pass with 3:21 left, Philadelphia fans were dancing on the tables, chanting "Jack-son-ville! Jack-son-ville!"
Kline spent the final moments of the game scrambling around the barroom, kissing longtime club members. They, in turn, hoisted him onto their shoulders.
When he got back on his feet, Kline walked over to Greg Washington, a 28-year-old Philadelphia native who sat front-row center the entire game and who collapsed, sobbing, into Kline's arms.
"It's unbelievable," Washington said. "It's the best thing to ever happen to the city."
Down the road, the pregame pandemonium at O'Brien's - a smaller pub full of chain-smoking, hard-hat-wearing, tattooed members of the Black and Gold club - was deafening. Not even CBS' "Johnny Carson - 1925-2005" graphic dented the raucous din.
"They pound the ashtrays every week when the offense is out," explained Mick Meszaros, 41, a five-year club veteran. "That's what makes it so loud."
Early in the game, Joey Kaefer, 22, was already plotting his trip to Jacksonville. His uncle had spent $1,800 on eBay for Super Bowl tickets. "It'll be worth it, 100 percent," Kaefer said.
In the end, the fans couldn't pull the Steelers through. The screams subsided when the final horn sounded. Philadelphia and New England, not Pittsburgh, were on their way to Jacksonville.
At least two people left O'Brien's in a good mood. They were Shari Bush, 37, and George Alatorre, 41 - a jersey-wearing Eagles fan and a closet Patriots fan, respectively.
Now, their search is on for Super Bowl tickets.
"We're getting married in April, so that will be something," Alatorre said. "Especially if I wear my Patriots jersey and she wears her Eagles jersey."
--Jay Cridlin can be reached at 813 661-2442 or cridlin@sptimes.com
[Last modified January 24, 2005, 06:45:59]
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