PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It's not a cornfield in Iowa, but a basement in Delco.
"It's like a field of dreams for Eagles fans," said John Barchard, co-host of the “Bell and the Birdmen,” a well-known independent Birds podcast in the Delaware Valley.
This field of dreams lies within 36-year-old Allison Cawley’s basement, better known as her “fan cave,” in Delaware County. From signed memorabilia to furniture, it is completely decked out in everything Eagles.
The “fan cave” exemplifies the intensity of her love for the Eagles, which began super young.
"I was 4 running around not knowing anything, but on Sundays we all came together and watched the Eagles game,” Cawley, an executive assistant at a capital investment firm, said.
She recalls her grandfather "talking about these bums" and often getting distracted thinking about them during classes and exams in college.
Today, Cawley often finds herself at the Linc for home games — she landed season tickets a few years ago in section 216.
Cawley noted the girlfriends she grew up with aren’t football fans, which is why she has felt the need to make additional, new friends through her Eagles fandom to share her passion for the Birds with.
She loves the camaraderie, friendship and distraction the Birds still provide on a weekly basis and has become a regular fixture at multiple tailgates — starting with the 4th and Jawn Crew and making the rounds to other groups.
"So many friends that I've met because of tailgates and the Eagles and traveling for the Eagles — that's kind of now taking a life of its own,” Cawley said.
And something that has also taken a life of its own: the Fan Cave.
Cawley bought a house in 2019, which she shares with her mother.
At her previous apartment, Cawley had some Eagles and Super Bowl LII memorabilia inside but was limited because of the space. When she moved, however, she realized the house’s finished basement could be turned into something special.
Cawley decorated nearly the entire room on her own, with the help of her mother on occasion.
The steps to enter and leave the basement include the lyrics to the Eagles fight song, thanks to a special stencil. There is also a mini bar, with a drawing of the Lombardi Trophy, pieced together on the front of the bar by the words of Merrill Reese’s final call of Super Bowl LII.
The room is lit with green lights and is full of mini helmets and framed pictures of Cawley with Eagles alumni or current players, as well as framed newspaper covers from big moments. She even has a pair of seats from the former Veterans Stadium.
The decorations don’t stop there. The furniture is Eagles-branded, as is a light switch and gumball machine, and her bathroom includes an Eagles mat, towels and toilet paper. Yup, you read correctly – toilet paper.
"It's a labor of love," Cawley said.
Barchard had the opportunity to see her basement in-person while doing an episode for his podcast.
“You’re walking through and you feel like you should be paying a ticket. … It’s one of the best fan caves I’ve ever seen in my life,” Barchard said.
He described her as an “encyclopedia of fandom”-- someone who can point to a certain part of the game and know exactly where she was and what was happening.
Cawley credits both her mother and the Eagles fan community for helping make the fan cave what it is.
Afterall, community is what brings her so much enjoyment when it comes to being an Eagles fan.
“That’s why I have the basement,” she said.