I KNOW YOU'RE A HUGE PHILLIES FAN AND A BIG COLE HAMELS FAN. WHEN DID YOU BECOME SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE TEAM AND YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER?
"In 2008 around the World Series, but really in 2009, when they went back to the World Series, that I started watching every game." 

WHY IS COLE HAMELS YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER?
"I like his leadership. I feel like he steps up and plays that leader role and gets everyone to follow and knows what he's doing on the field. He can also work with the old team. 

He's not one of those leaders that's all conceited and only thinks about what would be good for him." 

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE RUMORS OF THEM TRADING HIM?
"They're really nerve wracking. I watch it all the time and I really shouldn't watch cause it's kind of my worst nightmare but it's one of those things that you can't help." 

IF HE GOES TO ANOTHER TEAM, WOULD YOU STILL BE A PHILLIES FAN OR WOULD YOU SWITCH YOUR LOYALTY TO WHEREVER HE GOES?
"I'd be a Phillies fan but I'd watch the games that he pitches for his new team."

SINCE 2009, HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE YOUR LOVE OF THE PHILLIES? 
"I go to a lot of the games, especially the ones he pitches. Last year we went to spring training. They were very up close and personal there."

THAT'S SO COOL. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO SPRING TRAINING AGAIN?
"Yeah, I am. This year." 

YOU'VE ALSO BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE HAMELS FOUNDATION. WHAT DOES THE FOUNDATION DO?
"It's a non-profit foundation that benefits education in Philadelphia as well as Malawi, Africa." 

WHAT KIND OF THINGS HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE ORGANIZATION, PERSONALLY?
"They set up tables at the Phillies games and promote the foundation, just by getting the word out there and letting people know what they've done. There's just little events at their store in Bryn Mawr, where they bring people in and talk about the foundation. In June there was a volunteer orientation, which I went to. They do a couple of them throughout the year just so they can get keep getting volunteers. The volunteers didn't even start until last year."

SO THEY DIDNT HAVE VOLUNTEERS UNTIL LAST YEAR?
"They worked within the foundation and now they're so much larger that they need volunteers too. Its great that they're promoting themselves and growing."

ARE THERE ANY EVENTS COMING UP THAT YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN?
"The foundation has an event on February 5. They set up a table at Panera (Bread) and the receipts they get that night, half of the money will go to the foundation."
(Anyone interested in attending, the address is: Panera bread: 1991 Sproul Rd, Lawrence Park, Pennsylvania)

BEING 16, ARE YOUR FRIENDS AS PASSIONATE ABOUT THE PHILLIES OR SPORTS AS YOU ARE?
"My friends are very passionate about sports. They're more football oriented than baseball but they also love baseball. So that's something we can connect on."

DO YOU THINK GETTING RID OF JIMMY ROLLINS WAS A GOOD MOVE? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE STATE OF THE TEAM?
"I feel like the Jimmy move wasn't a great move. Also Marlon Byrd (being traded). They were two of our really good hitters last year and then we're trading people that can hit. But, we also need to start rebuilding so it makes sense as well. I was sad (about the Jimmy trade) cause he was here for 18 years."

More about the Hamels foundation from their Facebook page:
The Hamels Foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the power of education by giving them the tools they need to achieve their goals.

The Hamels Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series MVP and 3-time MLB All-star pitcher Cole Hamels and his wife Heidi, who grew up in Buffalo, MO and graduated from Drury University. The Hamels Foundation has a dual purpose to provide support for quality education in the United States and establish a school in Malawi, Africa. The Hamels Foundation takes a community-based approach to education by providing assistance to schools as well as supporting other education based non-profits. This includes but is not limited to providing stimulating learning environments, high-quality educational programs and necessary provisions to promote learning.

For more information contact:
Lauren Henderson, Retail and Office Manager
The Hamels Foundation Retail Store, West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA
(484) 383-4710

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
"Wilmington, Delaware."

ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM THERE?
"No. I'm from Philadelphia."

ARE YOU A BIG SPORTS FAN?
"Yes!"

DO YOU STILL SUPPORT THE LOCAL (PHILLY) TEAMS?
"Definitely!"

DOES EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSE ROOT FOR THOSE TEAMS AS WELL?

"No. Hubby routes for the (Buffalo) Bills and somehow my son has taken a liking to the (Cincinnati) Bengals. Although we all root for the Eagles on game day (except every four years when they play the Bills)!
 
WELL AT LEAST THEY KNOW WHO TO ROOT FOR WHEN IT COUNTS!
HOW IS IT IN YOUR HOUSE ON GAME DAYS?
"Football is an all day family event."

SO HOW OLD IS YOUR SON?
"Stephen will be 7 next month! 

ARE YOU OKAY WITH HIM BEING A BENGALS FAN (AT LEAST FOR NOW)?
"Yes, for now he can root for whomever he wants (unless they are playing the Eagles or Bills)!"

SO DESPITE HAVING SOME DIFFERENT TASTE IN SPORTS TEAMS, YOU'VE MANAGED TO ESTABLISH A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?
"We have been married for 7 years! Together 11!"
 
HOW DID YOU MEET?
"We met at the Inaugural Home Opener for the Philadelphia Soul."

WERE YOU AN ARENA FOOTBALL FAN?
"I had never even heard of area football before. I took my friend to her first Flyers game in January. They were promoting the Soul. And I thought it would be something different to do on a Saturday then shoot pool and hang at the bar. I mean football and Bon Jovi, how could it be bad? I convinced two of my friends to get season tickets with me (season tickets was cheaper than one Eagles ticket). My friends and I were the 3 middle seats in the row. Greg (her husband) and his friends were the first four seats in our row. Greg sat down next to me. At half time, his friend leaned across him and introduced himself and asked if we had season tickets. When I said yes, he said we should get to know each other since they did too and we could hang out and tail gate. Then he said, "Don't worry I'm not hitting on you I am married." Greg put his arm around me and said "Speak for yourself." We tailgated before the next game and then we all went out to Copacobana on South Street afterwards. We've been together ever since!"

GREAT STORY! YOU GUYS ARE TRULY "SOULMATES"!
SO, A LOVE OF SPORTS BROUGHT YOU TOGETHER?
"Yep. And my love of Bon Jovi of course!"

SINCE NEITHER THE BILLS NOR THE EAGLES (OR THE BENGALS FOR THAT MATTER) WILL BE PLAYING IN THE BIG GAME THIS YEAR, WILL YOU STILL WATCH?
"We watch the Big Game every year! It's tradition!"

WILL YOU ALL BE ROOTING FOR THE SAME TEAM?
"We generally end up rooting for the same team for the Super Bowl. We love the same secondary players and/or team and dislike the same as well. When in doubt root for Peyton, or Broncos... Or whatever team we like more! This year we thought we'd go Patriots but with "deflate-gate" we are going Seahawks. But in reality we just want to watch a good game!"

A good  photograph is powerful. It freezes a moment in time. It can bring you back to a moment. It can give you a view you might not have otherwise seen. It can lift your spirits. It can make you laugh. It can make you cry. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So we hope that there will be photos from this collection that will speak to you. 
 

YOU'RE A BIG FOOTBALL FAN IS THAT RIGHT?
"BIG TIME! A lot of my friends think I'm borderline obsessed."

WHAT TEAM DO YOU SUPPORT?
"The Philadelphia Eagles!"

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?                  .                  "San Diego, California."

ARE YOU FROM PHILADELPHIA ORIGINALLY?                        .
"No."

SO BESIDES THE EAGLES, DO YOU HAVE ANY CONNECTION TO PHILLY?                                              "My father was born and raised in Media, PA.  Before my grandmother passed away, we'd make 2-3 trips to Philly yearly, always during football season."

SO, HOW DID YOU BECOME AN EAGLES FAN?                                 .
"My father. I have home videos of me watching games with my dad at 2 years old. I truly believe being an Eagles fan is a birthright."

DO YOU EVER ROOT FOR YOUR HOME TEAM(S)?                  .
"Only the Padres, not the Chargers. San Diego is a very fair-weathered fan base. I always root against the Chargers."

DO LOCALS WHERE YOU LIVE EVER GIVE YOU A HARD TIME ABOUT BEING A FAN OF AN OUT OF STATE TEAM?
"Yes, but it's mostly to be facetious. To be honest, a die hard San Diego fan is hard to find, so it's easy to ignore the "haters".         

IT'S PRETTY EASY TO FIND DIE HARD EAGLES FANS, AT LEAST HERE IN PHILLY ANYWAY. ALTHOUGH, I FIND WE TRAVEL WELL. ARE YOU THE LONE EAGLES FAN WHERE YOU ARE?
"Other than my father and my sister, I know maybe 3 or 4. Very rare over here."
    .
WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY WHEN THEY FIND OUT YOU ARE AN EAGLES FAN?
"They always bring up the rings....ALWAYS."

YEAH, WE GET THAT A LOT!                               .
EAGLES FANS TOO THOUGH ARE NOTORIOUS FOR GIVING RIVAL FANS A HARD TIME, PARTICULARLY IN "THEIR HOUSE" (LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD), DOES ANYTHING SIMILAR HAPPEN WHEN RIVAL FANS VISIT YOUR STADIUM? 
"Well, at Qualcomm stadium the visiting team usually outnumbers the home team, so I never have a problem. I remember when the Eagles played here in 2009. All you saw at "The Q" was green. It was awesome."

THAT IS AWESOME.           .
SO, IS THERE A GOOD PLACE TO WATCH AN EAGLES GAME WHERE YOU ARE?
"There use to be an Eagles bar near the beach I'd always go to, but this year they shut down for some reason."

SO WITH NEITHER YOUR HOME TEAM NOR YOUR FAVORITE TEAM LEFT, WILL YOU STILL WATCH THE SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR? 
"Oh yeah! I'm not only an Eagles lover, I'm a football lover."

AND WHO WILL YOU BE ROOTING FOR?
 "I dislike both teams, but the Seahawks. The Pats cheated the Eagles in 04 with "SpyGate"!"

SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE EAGLES FAN.

YOU MENTIONED PEOPLE HAVING THESE HIGH DEFINITION, GREAT TV's AT HOME, SO WHY WOULD THEY COME OUT TO A SPORTS BAR AT ALL?
"We give you the atmosphere. You get waited on, treated extra special that day, waited on hand and foot. To be with other fans, to be cheering against other fans. It's a little different than rooting in your living room where there isn't really someone to go high five. Your buddies might be over, but if you're in a bar and there's some rival fans in there, it kind of makes for some excitement. You can give a little shit talking back and forth. I think just being out in the public atmosphere is always gonna win over being home."

WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST OR ROWDIEST THING SOMEONE HAS EVER DONE?
"The sports bar I worked at before this, someone actually stood up on a metal table and broke the table, cracked it. When I went over to talk to the table, they said they didn't know what happened, that it just fell over. People have thrown bottles at the television...' 

HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORKED IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA?
"For the most part. South Jersey, Philadelphia." 

DO YOU NOTICE A DIFFERENCE IN FANS BETWEEN THOSE AREAS? DO YOU NOTICE A LOT OF RIVALRIES?
"Not necessarily here.  Philadelphia fans, there's one thing that's very special and unique about them, they're Philadelphia proud. They stick with their team, regardless. They'll give "it" to ya, but at the end of the day, they're still an Eagles fan, a Phillies fan, a Flyers fan. Even though the Sixers aren't having a good season, we have our people that come in and they'll wanna know why the Sixers aren't on, if they're not. They're like "Why is the Sixers game not on? C'mon let's get the game going." When I worked in south Jersey, at the tip, you'd have more rivalries there because the cable television line was basically right in the middle where Hamilton, NJ is. So if you go a little south of Hamilton you have your Philadelphia team fans. A little north of Hamilton, you've got your Mets, your Yankees, your Giants, your Jets. So there could be clashes a little bit more when I worked there."

DO YOU HAVE A "STAND OUT" MEMORY OF YOUR YEARS OF WORKING IN A SPORTS BAR?
"Every once in a while you get to meet people. I got to meet Terrell Owens when he was with the Eagles when he was really peaking back in 2004. Bill Clement, I've met him a few times. He's really respectful. A good guy. Nothing really sticks out and you get to meet so many people that they all kind of run together. 
Working in a Philadelphia sports bar during the Super Bowl was great. 
And I was in NJ when the Yankees and the Phillies played. That was a good experience because you had a mixture of NY and Philadelphia fans. That made for a great World Series. I would say that when they got to play, you got a sense of some great local sports teams coming together."

Philly fans are always all in for the game. Watching their teams are a tradition, a rite-of-passage, and just a really good time (when we win). Who hasn't scheduled a child's birthday party during the bye week? Or planned their family vacation during the off-season? (Just me then?) So, tell us, were do you most like to watch your favorite teams and games?

Whether you love them or hate them, Philadelphia sports teams breed some of the most passionate and knowledgeable sports fans in the world. Despite long draughts, elusive championships, and years of shouting, "there's always next year", there are no fans more loyal. Philly fans come from all walks of life. They embody an ideal; one of a hard-working, blue collar, never give up the fight mentality. If there is one thing about Philly that unites people, that brings them together more than anything else, it's our teams. 
Welcome to Phanadelphia.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM ORIGINALLY?
“South Jersey.”

AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
“Indian Trail, NC.”

GROWING UP IN SOUTH JERSEY, WHAT SPORTS TEAMS DID YOU ROOT FOR?
“Eagles, Phillies, Flyers. I don't follow basketball, but I assume if I did, it would be the Sixers.”

SO YOU BASICALLY SUPPORTED ALL OF THE PHILLY TEAMS?
“Yep, always!"

NOW THAT YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA HAS THAT CHANGED?
“Nope, not at all.”


DO YOU EVER ROOT FOR ANY OF THE TEAMS WHERE YOU LIVE NOW?
“No. I actually work at a sports bar and we have to wear football jerseys on football days.  I still wear my Eagles jersey. It would've been cool if the Panthers went further, but mostly for business. We just had a new girl start and now there are 3 of us in Eagles jerseys.”

WHAT WOUD YOU SAY YOUR FAVORITE SPORT IS, WHAT DO YOU FOLLOW THE MOST?
“Hmm, probably football. Baseball is a close second.”

SO WHEN YOU’RE AT WORK IN YOUR EAGLES JERSEY AND CUSTOMERS COME IN, DO THEY EVER GIVE YOU A HARD TIME ABOUT IT? TEASE YOU OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT?
“Oh yes! I had a woman ask me last week if I get any tips wearing that jersey. And I've been stiffed by a couple who told me they hated the Eagles as soon as I walked up to their table. They were not a young couple either. They were middle aged, seemingly mature people. I get comments and stuff like that a lot. But we draw all kinds of fans. We have 50 tv’s playing all the games. I've met quite a few Eagles fans there.”

IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE PHILLY SPORTS FANS WHEREVER YOU GO! DO YOU FEEL AN IMMEDIATE BOND WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF WITH ANOTHER EAGLES OR PHILLIES FAN DOWN THERE?
“Yes, I do! We always hit it off immediately like old friends! And they tip better (laughter).

PHILLY SEEMS TO HAVE A BAD REPUTATION AS FAR AS A LOT OF DIFFERENT STEREOTYPES. THE EAGLES' FANS IN PARTICULAR. HAVE YOU HEARD ANY OF THEM THERE? DO YOU GET AN IDEA OF HOW WE ARE PERCEIVED IN OTHER PLACES?
“Yes! I was wearing an Eagles jersey at Wal-Mart and one of the guys that worked there said, “Better watch out, she's an Eagles fan. She might be violent.” And someone else who was standing there said not to let me near the batteries,  I might throw them at them.”

WOW. SO THOSE STORIES REALLY ARE KNOWN ALL OVER?
“Yes,  they definitely are. I was a little surprised.”

CAN YOU EVER SEE YOURSELF ROOTING FOR ANOTHER TEAM?
“No, I'm Philly (south Jersey, same difference) born and bred. I'm a lifetime Philly fan. Although, I do root for anyone who is playing against Dallas. So there's that.”

DO YOU RUN INTO MANY DALLAS FANS THERE?
“A few. I also work with one. I actually had a large table right before Christmas, on a Monday night, so I had my jersey on. At the end the one guy told me he was a Dallas fan. Surprisingly not obnoxious and it was right after we were knocked out. He told me to keep my colors. He also wrote it on the receipt with a nice tip. Oh, and one of our dishwashers is a Cowboys fan. We just have a lot of fun trash talking.”

WELL THAT WAS NICE. I FIND THAT DESPITE THE RIVALRY STUFF, THERE IS GOOD AND BAD WITHIN ALL FAN BASES.
I GUESS THERE WAS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT THERE WITH THE PANTHERS MAKING THE PLAYOFFS. WITH THE EAGLES NOT MAKING IT AND THE PANTHERS BEING OUT, WILL YOU STILL WATCH THE SUPER BOWL? 
“Oh the last Panthers game was crazy in that place. But, yeah, of course I'll watch. Most likely I'll be working. But it's gonna be hard to stomach, two teams that have taunted our fans! I would much rather that Green Bay was in and wish they'd kick New England's butt! Oh well, it is what it is. And in the words of any true Philly fan, “we got this next year!”

I THINK THIS IS A GOOD TIME FOR A WELL PLACES EAGLES CHANT! READY?
(AT THE SAME TIME) E-A-G-L-E-S... Eagles!!
“E-A-G-L-E-S...Eagles!” “Fly Eagles fly!”

Phanadelphia Quick Poll
  Through the years there have been players who, whether through a few magic moments, consistently great play, or just being an all-around good person, have become fan faves. Who would you say holds the title of most beloved Philly Sports figure? If your answer is missing be sure to let us know in the comments below.