Superfan Monty G on how Philly sports helped him through his long COVID-19 battle

To nominate yourself or someone you know for Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week, go to kywnewsradio.com/fans

You might know Monty G as the Philadelphia sports fan who puts together original freestyles about his favorite teams, closing them with his catchphrase "Baby Baaby!"

For Monty G, whose real name is Lamont Anderson, his raps are about representing those teams while entertaining sports fans that show him a lot of love. They also represent the love his favorite athletes showed him during some of his darkest days.

On his Twitter page, he calls himself the "No. 1 Hype Man and Hype Fan." But you could make the strong argument that being hype hasn't been Monty G's only signature quality over the past two years.

In that time, he has shown his fight and resilience, overcoming a debilitating case of COVID-19 and continuing to battle through post-COVID-19 effects with the help and inspiration of his favorite Philadelphia athletes.

Anderson, 52 from South Philadelphia, has been rapping since he was 12. He told KYW Newsradio that he was part of rap group Tuff Crew. His "Baby Baaby" signout was inspired from Biggie Smalls.
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"I loved it, and that was my key saying,” Anderson said. “That was my M.O. right there, and people just loved me for that and I rolled with it."

He eventually went to work for Power 99 in Philadelphia doing promotions, hyping up fans at live broadcasts, just like he hypes up Philadelphia sports teams now.

Anderson said he has been a Philadelphia sports fan since the days of Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski.

Yet he explained that his super fandom really took off when late 6ABC sportscaster Gary Papa and longtime WIP host Howard Eskin nominated him as a super fan at a pep rally at City Hall in 2006.

Then in 2010, Anderson grew especially attached to the Eagles, when former players Jeremy Maclin, Michael Vick, and Brian Westbrook helped his family after Anderson's sister's house caught fire on Thanksgiving.

"I was just a fan, but they really showed me love,” Anderson said, “so I really kept going on and on to really represent and show my love to them."

If you've seen Monty G down by the sports complex, you'll see a guy decked out in the logos and colors of his favorite teams, the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, Flyers, and Union. He even gave a shoutout to Villanova hoops during our conversation.

Sometimes his attire includes unique airbrush t-shirts and a small Eagle flapping its wings on his hat. You'll also often see him with a gold chain that reads "Monty G."

He has a passion for hyping up his fellow fans with dancing and lyrics that come so naturally to him.

"Monty G is a special fan because of all of the talent that he has," Anderson's girlfriend Wanda Drake told KYW Newsradio.

"He has a lot of talent. He does his chants. He makes people feel good. That's what makes him special, by the way he made people just feel good. They flock to him."

So much of Monty G's energy stems from a love of sports, athletes giving their all.

"When I see them doing that, that's how I do my raps, describing them how they are," Monty G said.

Despite all this energy and consistent vibrancy, Monty G almost lost all of this at the start of the pandemic.

Monty G got a severe case of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.

"It was like doctors didn't know what was going on, and things that happened to me they never saw," Monty G explained.

He said he blacked out, didn't wake up for a couple of months, and was on a ventilator. Monty G recalled that he wasn't sure he was going to make it.

"It was really scary to me," he shared, saying he thought he was ready to go.

“I lost a son before to the street violence and everything, and I thought maybe this is time for me to go up there. My mom and dad are gone, and I'll be up there with my mom and dad and my son, and I'll go to heaven and I'll just be out of here some, but God blessed me to keep me here. I'm thankful. I have a wonderful girlfriend on my side that was there for me to take care of me and get me through this day, and I'm just blessed to be here now."

While Drake was there, so were some of his favorite Eagles.

"Brandon Graham really pulled him through," Drake said of the Super Bowl-winning Eagles defensive end.

Drake said Graham, as well as Eagles legend Brian Dawkins and mascot Swoop, sent Monty G videos to Drake's phone when he was sick, so he could see them once he improved.

Drake said her favorite moment of watching sports with Monty G was meeting Brandon Graham after COVID-19.

"It's a steady conversation [with Graham]," Drake said.

"They stay in conversation with each other. It wasn't just, 'Ok, I'm just gonna send you this video and that's it.' They stay in conversation, and he goes where Brandon Graham goes. They see each other. 'Hi, Monty G!' It's like they've been friends forever."

She also said the Eagles organization offered a big donation to GoFundMe for Monty G.

"Everything [they were] telling me, they want me to get better,” Monty G said about Graham’s & Dawkins’ videos.

“They [were] praying for me, [saying] ‘Don't let nothing change [you]…and please continue to get well,’ because they can't wait to hear me come back out and say my 'Baby Baaby!' So that had me feeling great."

Monty G remains limited by post-COVID-19 effects that have involved recent surgery.

He hasn't been able to go to the tailgates that he always enjoyed going to, even as COVID-19 restrictions have been loosened.

But Monty G is determined to get back to the sports complex parking lots to be with his fellow fans. He has set a goal for this upcoming Eagles season.

He said things like receiving a phone call from us about doing a feature on him helps him get through tough times.

Monty G also shared that Graham hooked him up with a scooter to make things easier for him when he goes out.

Despite everything he's been through, Monty G is still freestyling his rhymes. He's still enjoying Philadelphia sports. And beyond his hope to return to the parking lots for the 2022 football season, he aspires to ring the Sixers’ ceremonial pregame bell one day, hoping for an invitation from the team.

"I want that very badly, because this is something that he has been saying over and over," Drake said.

"Before COVID, after COVID, he's been wanting to ring that bell, and I think the fans out there would love to see that also."

To nominate yourself or someone you know for Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week, go to kywnewsradio.com/fans