Members of Eagles Zone AZ packed Philly's Sports Grill in Tempe, Az. on Feb. 10, 2023 ahead of Super Bowl LVII on Sunday. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
Eagles fans have been flocking to Arizona for Super Bowl LVII, but some fans have been building nests there for years.
This Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs for the opportunity to bring home their second Vince Lombardi Trophy. While some fans are flying in for the Super Bowl Experience, others have been calling Arizona home for years.
Eagles Zone AZ is a fan group based in the Phoenix area that has provided a place for fans to perch from and cheer on their favorite team from across the country since the 2017-18 season, the year the Eagles won Super Bowl LII.
They’ve been living their best life this week at Philly’s Sports Grill in Tempe, eating cheesesteaks, high-fiving each other, and of course, leading Eagles chants.
The group’s founder, Kristen Boffo, was born and raised in South Jersey and has been an Eagles fan her whole life. She moved to Arizona about 15 years ago and she said seeing the Eagles play in a Super Bowl that’s down the road from her is something that only happens “once in a lifetime.”
“I mean, how many times are they just going to be in your backyard? Sometimes it is hard to see back home, and they’re tailgating and all that,” Boffo said. “We’re like, ‘Oh, man, I wish I was kind of there,’ but that’s why we have a great family here.”
“I had a chance to, like, go to the Super Bowl, but my response was, ‘I don’t want to celebrate something of that magnitude being an Eagles fan without my family,’” Boffo said.
Philly native Alex Ogleton said the group has connected him to his hometown roots.
After he moved to Arizona in 2012, he says that’s made him rep Philly even harder.
“It’s just something about just being a Philadelphian,” Ogleton said. “When I wear this Eagles chain, when I wear my jersey, when I wear my hat, I want them to say, ‘Go, Eagles.’ It’s all about this city.”
Dumaine Corbin, was born and raised in Chester. When he moved out to Arizona, he was surprised at the number of Eagles fans he came across.
“For whatever reason, Phoenix and Philly have some kind of connection,” Corbin said. “I don’t know what it is, but they do. But especially during the football season, I’m out with my wife and we’re out doing some grocery shopping. I see another guy with a lot of Eagles shirt on, the Eagles hat on, something, and we’re yelling, ‘Go birds,’ you know, from across the room. People are looking at us like we’re crazy.”
Eagles fans will have a good reason to go crazy on Sunday when Philadelphia takes on the Kansas City Chiefs.
The game will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. and the game will air on Fox.