It's
J'ville or bust for these fans
Headin' South, even though ticketless -
Posted on Wed, Jan. 26, 2005
By G.W. MILLER III - millerg@phillynews.com
BILL
DEERY is going to the Super Bowl.
And nothing is going to stop him.
A lifelong Eagles fan with two sets of season tickets at
the Linc and an incredibly popular Eagles fan Web site, Deery
has no tickets to the Super Bowl, no place to stay in Jacksonville
and no way of getting down there.
Not yet at least.
Deery is just one of the thousands of Eagles season-ticket
holders not chosen in the random lottery for the chance to
buy Super Bowl tickets who refuse to miss the biggest day
in Eagles history in 24 years.
No obstacle is too large to stop these fans, who bleed Eagle
green, who worship at the feet of Andy Reid, who remember
the Birds' first-round draft pick in 1973 and who listen to
Merrill Reese as though he were the voice of God.
"I have no tickets, no place to stay and I don't even
know where to go!" Deery said yesterday from his King
of Prussia home. "But I'm getting in the game one way
or another!"
No tickets? Somebody is bound to have seats available. No
place to stay? Someone will let you crash. No way of getting
down there?
Road trip.
The highway will be crowded late next week as Eagles fans
pile into cars - loaded with Tas-tykakes, pretzels and various
beverages - for the 13-hour, 850-mile pilgrimage from Philadelphia
to Alltel Stadium for Super Bowl XXXIX.
Deery, a mortgage banker, has a cousin with an RV, and he's
trying to strong-arm him into making the trek.
"Just pack up the Winnie [Winnebago] and let's go,"
Deery keeps telling him.
Deery already has a stable of friends who want to hitch a
ride. The crew is also considering chartering a jet to Miami
and then taking a limo to Jacksonville.
"It's just a question of how to get down there,"
Deery said.
The rest will fall into place, he said.
The city of Jacksonville is inviting everyone to come for
the festivities.
"We're a quiet, little town," said Jennifer MacPhee
of the Jacksonville Convention and Visitors Bureau, "but
rabid football fans are not a stranger down here."
MacPhee said that along with their own professional team,
the city regularly hosts major-college football games.
Jeff Permar sent an e-mail to his best friend, Jay Moore,
yesterday morning.
"Dude, we're driving down. I don't care what my wife
says," read the e-mail.
Moore, a graphic designer with Juniper Bank in Wilmington,
said their plans were pretty simple so far.
"We're looking for a campground for the first night,"
he said. "After that, who knows."
The pair plan to sleep in a 20-year-old, green, two-man tent.
If the campgrounds don't work out, they'll sleep in their
Jeep.
"We don't care as long as we are there," Moore
said.
They'll try to find tickets to the game when they arrive,
but if they don't, they'll hit the tailgate parties and maybe
a sports bar.
"The goal is to be there, to feel the energy,"
Moore said. "The only way this trip could not be a success
is if the Eagles lose. And that's not going to happen."
Moore said they never considered looking into hotel rooms,
airlines or game tickets.
The 35,000 hotel rooms in the six-county Jacksonville area
have long since been sold out. Even the 3,600 rooms on cruise
ships docked in Jacksonville are spoken for. Cheap seats at
the Super Bowl are selling on eBay for more than $2,500. And
flights from Philadelphia to Jacksonville are filling fast
and getting expensive.
Permar and Moore are thinking they can survive the long weekend
on just a few hundred dollars each.
"We'll probably get by on hot dogs and McDonald's,"
Moore said.
Russ Stevenson, known as Tailgate Russ, will be flying down
with his wife and children, and staying with friends in the
Jacksonville area. They don't have tickets to the game, but
that won't stop them from celebrating.
"We know there will be more Eagles fans down there than
Patriots fans," said Stevenson. "There will probably
be more Eagles fans than locals."
Stevenson has connected with fellow tailgaters through the
Internet and knows where all the biggest and best parties
will be.
And he would know a good party - Stevenson said he spent
about $50,000 putting together a tailgate party when the Eagles
played the Dolphins in Miami last season. He had barbecues,
live music, sand sculptures, an Elvis impersonator and a performer
from Cirque du Soliel.
"I'm thrilled not to have to put it all together this
time," he said.
And if he gets into the game after the partying, it will
be a bonus.
Matt Cissne, 31, of Conshohocken, feels the same way.
"I'd love to be able to get into the game, but it'll
be fun just to be down there," Cissne said.
He scored cheap airline tickets online and will be crashing
with his best friend.
"At least, we'll be down there to celebrate," Cissne
said.
"And we'll be back in Philly in time to see the parade
go right up Broad Street."
