PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Steve McClatchy, 56, of Chester County, doesn’t need caffeine.
“I’ve been off caffeine for 30 years,” he told KYW Newsradio.
You wouldn’t know it if he didn’t say so.
The guy is full of energy, fueled by a love of family and the bond created through Philadelphia sports.
The 11th of 12 siblings who grew up rather close in age together in suburban Philadelphia didn’t just watch Philadelphia sports. He says they lived and breathed it.
“We couldn’t finish watching a game,” McClatchy remembers. “We would start the game, and then we’d need to play it. So, halfway through a Phillies game, we’d be out in the yard playing baseball. Halfway through an Eagles game, we’d be tackling each other in the yard. Flyers, Sixers, whatever the sport was, we couldn’t finish watching it before we had to play it and when we’re playing it, we would yell all of the names of the Philadelphia sports heroes.
“So, when you’re hitting a shot, you’re Dr. J. When you’re saving a goal, you’re Bernie Parent. You’re like, ‘PARENT!’”
This love of Philadelphia sports, which came from McClatchy’s parents, Kay and Jay, has been carried over to McClatchy’s wife, Lynn, and the generations that follow: their kids, Grace, Amy, Kyle and Kelly. They try to attend one game a year together for all five Philadelphia professional sports teams — the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers and Union.
McClatchy is also the driving force behind Game Day gatherings during football season, as well as large get-togethers of dozens of their extended family members at Phillies games over the years. They’d tailgate, and then sit in the rooftop bleacher seats by the home run Liberty Bell.
To hear more about that, check out this week’s edition of KYW Newsradio’s Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week.