“We met back in 2006 and have been watching Eagles games ever since,” Gilmore told this news outlet. “We’ve had people come and go over the years but, we really decided to push this and make it into something big back in 2022.”
Having been to a few Eagles vs. Bengals games in 2008, 2016 and other years, the two friends knew there were a great deal of Eagles fans in the region and realized “there just needed to be something to bring it all together,” Gilmore said.
“We wanted to give all (Eagles) fans in the tri-state area, whether originally from Philly or not, a place to call home. I’m proud to say we’ve built that,” he said.
Participation in Midwest Eagles Nest started slowly, with Solon and Gilmore using Eagles fans groups on Facebook to search out other Philadelphia fans in the area.
“I’d scroll through dozens of threads looking for anyone who said they were living in this area and would invite them to join us,” Gilmore said. “From there, word of mouth took care of a lot of it.”
Midwest Eagles Nest had been averaging roughly 30 to 40 Eagles fans per week at the start of the 2024 season. However, once the team came to play the Bengals at Paycor Stadium again, the group used that as “a huge recruiting opportunity” and it worked, he said.
“We quickly jumped to 60 to 70 people and now our Super Bowl party is a private event, as we’ve booked the entire Back Porch Saloon ... so the seated capacity is well over 200 people,” Gilmore said. “Reservation requests actually had to be turned away because we were already at capacity.”
Fannie Woods, of Dayton, said she plans to attend Sunday as she has been doing for every Eagles game this season.
“I love being around other Eagles fans,” she said. “I love the environment. I love the camaraderie.”
About the Author
