PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia sports has captured the heart of soon-to-be 57-year-old Brian Brown of Fairless Hills. But in the coming days, starting with the NFL Draft, Brown will be temporarily sidelining his devotion to his beloved teams for newlywed bliss.
“I kinda made a promise to my fiancé from April 28 to May 7, only time I will have my phone is to take pictures,” said Brown. “I made a promise. It’s gonna be tough. I love my Philly sports, yes. They’re a close second. But my fiancé comes first.”
Brown, a lifelong fan from his days as a little kid in Bucks County, is getting married April 29, which is Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Right now, the Eagles actually only have two seventh-round picks. But because Brown is such a huge Philadelphia sports fan, these are usually massive days on the calendar for him.
Instead, Brown will be marrying Debbie Morgan – a wonderful woman he met through a high school alumni page, and someone who he plans on inviting into the wonderful world of Philadelphia sports.
But first, it’s important to understand Brown’s love and level of commitment to the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers and Flyers, as well as other professional or collegiate teams in town.
Brown’s knowledge and memory of Philadelphia sports is extensive. He can remember exact dates of iconic moments – such as the Flyers' back-to-back Stanley Cups from the mid-70s, or something less further back like Mike Schmidt’s 500th home run at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
He attended both no hitters at Veterans Stadium – Terry Mulholland’s in 1990 and Kevin Millwood’s in 2003.
He was at a game in 1982 between the Phillies and Astros sitting in the 500 level when Mike Schmidt hit one out against Nolan Ryan – he remembers something as random as that.
“Little things I can remember. I mean, if you asked me what I ate for breakfast yesterday, hmm, gotta think about that one.”
Despite the many, many years of losing suffered by his favorite teams, Brown likes to reminisce on the positive. He can’t stand the word, “Negadelphia.”
“I can honestly say I remember all four teams winning their championships.”
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He feels an obligation to defend his fellow Philadelphia fans against the stereotypes too often placed on this city.
“We’re not nuts,” Brown says. “We’re passionate.”
He lives and dies by these teams — whether they’re good or bad.
“When they lose, I’m bummed out. If they win, it’s excellent.”
And he owns countless amounts of Philadelphia sports jerseys, shirts and memorabilia – new and old – estimating over the years that he has owned over 100 jerseys. Some of which, have gotten lost along the way.
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Brown cares so much that he’s superstitious — sitting in the same spot for games, re-wearing jerseys on consecutive days and sometimes going a few days without washing an outfit because he didn’t sweat in it.
Dedication. Detail.
He says this past Eagles season, one of his good luck outfits was a black 2017 NFC East Championship t-shirt worn underneath his green Avonte Maddox jersey.
Brown said he wears something related to Philadelphia sports just about every day – except maybe Sundays for church.
Brown has so many memories and Philadelphia sports-related interests to share, and now he gets to do so with Morgan.
They’ve known each other for a little over a year. Both went to Pennsbury High School, with Morgan graduating in 1973, and Brown in 1984. Brown helps run Pennsbury’s alumni page, which includes a daily morning post with beautiful scenery. One day, Morgan commented on how she liked the post, which led to a conversation, then exchanging phone numbers, text messages and eventually meeting in person.
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“The rest is history,” Brown said. “It’s just, sparks flow.”
And Morgan is very supportive of Brown’s passion.
“He’s very dedicated,” Morgan said, with the two of them laughing.
Sometime this summer, Brown plans on taking Morgan to her first Phillies game and sharing his memories of Philadelphia sports with her.
“It’s a big part of my life,” Brown said. “Part of who I am, and I want to be able to share these memories while I have them.”
In the meantime, Brown and Morgan have a wedding to put on next weekend. While Brown puts his phone aside to focus on his newlywed, he said he’s going to have someone let him know who the Eagles take through a message or email even though he won’t answer right away. Then, they have their honeymoon in Cape May for a week before it’s back to the grind of being a Philadelphia sports fan.
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“Sunday the seventh is business as usual,” Brown said. “Everything picks up where I left off.”
And it picks up with Morgan getting to enjoy the fun along the way with him.
“He could be doing something a whole lot worse,” Morgan once again said with both of them laughing.