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Far From Philadelphia, These Eagles Fans Have Made St. Louis Home | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

February 10, 2023

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click to enlarge Courtesy photo The Eagles fan club in St. Louis has been growing over the years.

Daniel Murphy spent 31 years of his life in Philadelphia, “born and bred” to support Philly sports. He grew up pronouncing water as “wuder,” eating real cheesesteaks on that Philly hoagie roll, reciting the Eagles fight song and watching the Eagles, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.

Then he moved to St. Louis, and something was missing.

“St. Louis pizza sucks,” he says. “There’s no rolls, like people don’t know what rolls means in St. Louis. The pizza is horrible,” he repeats. “That kind of stuff.”

About a year into his move, around 2016, he realized his problem.

“I need some Philly,” he says.

So he did what any Philadelphian would do. He turned to the Philadelphia Eagles. He started a Facebook page, “Philadelphia Eagles Fans in Saint Louis,” in an effort to bring Eagles fans together.

At first, the page didn’t blow up. But when the Eagles made a Super Bowl run in 2017, FOX2 reached out. The network had found Murphy’s page and wanted to know if Eagles fans ever met up. The group didn’t have an Eagles bar at the time, but Murphy said “hold my beer.” He brought together some Eagles fans for the game, and FOX2 published a story on the party. After that, the fan page grew, jumping from around 50 followers to hundreds, Murphy says.

Now, the page has over 1,300 followers.

“I met so many people from all walks of life from Philly through this group,” he says. “This guy I met [through the group] was actually a friend of my cousin.”

Murphy wanted more than a Facebook page, though. Every sports fan knows the reputation of the Eagles faithful: Loud, relentless, fiercely loyal and ready to cheer or boo at a second’s notice. “Totally different breed of watching sports, man,” he says of Philly fans.

Over the years, the group has searched for a bar to call home. They’ve jumped from place to place, but this year, they laid claim to The Post Sports Bar & Grill in Maplewood. For every game, about 25 to 30 people pack into the backroom decked out in Eagles gear. Murphy says he thinks The Post will be the “legit home going forward.”

click to enlarge Courtesy photo Eagles fans pack into The Post for this year’s playoff games.

Inside The Post, Murphy says, it feels like Philly. Eagles flags hang on the wall, a cheesesteak is on the menu and the owner hands out green Eagles shots. The fans sing the Eagles fight song, “Fly Eagles Fly,” after every touchdown. During the playoffs, they have started singing the iconic Philly song: “no one likes us, we don’t care.” When someone walks in wearing another team’s jersey, well, “we give them shit,” Murphy says.

After the Eagles won the 2017 Super Bowl over the New England Patriots, Murphy returned to Philadelphia to celebrate.

But this year, Murphy won’t be going back to Philly. He won’t be going to The Post, either, which is having its own Super Bowl event, separate from the Eagles fan club. Murphy will be in Phoenix to watch the Super Bowl in-person, with his lucky Jerome Brown jersey on his back and his Eagles gnome in hand.

Murphy’s wife, Christina, a Kansas City native, is a die-hard Chiefs fan. They promised each other if the Chiefs ever faced the Eagles in the Super Bowl, they would drop everything and go to the game — with some parameters.

“We have a deal that neither of us can talk to each other for one hour after the game,” he says. “You just gotta let it go after that.”

click to enlarge Courtesy photo These lucky Eagles and Chiefs gnomes belong to Murphy and his wife Christina. Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

8 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

8 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

8 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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