Kenny Vaughan, a long-time, die-hard Eagles fan, is zoned into the TV whenever the Eagles come on. He goes down to his man cave with a Brandon Graham-signed jersey, a signed picture of Jordan Milata, and high-steaks cheesesteaks hot and ready to eat.
Nothing has changed for my Dad ever since his father, Kenneth Vaughan Sr., got him into football, especially the Eagles. Growing up, my grandfather’s energy infected my Dad. The games, full of excitement and anger, quickly sparked my dad’s passion for the Eagles. His Dad, “meant a whole lot to him,” he said.
“My Dad got me into watching the Eagles when I was a kid. I remember him being in front of the TV, and I would be there with him, and he’d be yelling at the TV, cheering on the Eagles, and cursing at the TV,” my dad recalled. When he was young, his favorite player to watch was Wilbert Montgomery, who wore number 31. He was a nice combination of elusiveness and power. And, you know, he was, he was a standout player,” he added.
In the ’80s and ’90s, watching Montgomery play meant everything to him. Especially when the Eagles used to beat the Cowboys. When my Dad was growing up, the Cowboys were always a top-notch team. In fact, during a game where Montgomery had multiple touchdowns, my Dad remembered, “It was a picture of that play in the newspaper, and Wilbur Montgomery had around five Dallas Cowboys around him, and no one could touch him. So to me, that was a really memorable game, because back then, in like, the ’80s, early ’90s, the Cowboys would dominate the Eagles, so anytime we would win, it would be a big deal.
Nowadays, my dad watches with friends, family, or both. During every game, he has to be texting his sister if they are not already together. “It’s kind of a ritual. We talk about every good and bad play like we would if we were out somewhere watching the game,” he explained. Whether the two are at Magerk’s watching the game on the many TVs or they are talking digitally, they cannot go without communicating about what is going on. “That’s my brother, of course, I am going to chat with him about the game,” said Erica Vaughan. “We are both big time Eagles fans because of our father, Kenneth Vaughan Sr., and I would not want it any other way.”
Philly is a football city. Knowing this, I asked my Dad if he’d rather the Eagles win a Super Bowl or every other Philly sports team win a championship. “I think that’s an easy choice for me, because I’m a huge Eagles fan. Yeah, you know, I’ve kind of dismissed the Sixers anyway, because they’ve been horrible. So, for me, I would go with the Eagles Super Bowl. I think this city is an Eagles city, a football city. I think a lot of Eagles fans will probably say the same thing as me.”
(Courtesy of Kenny Vaughan)
“I think as I’ve gotten older, my passion for the Eagles has increased,” he added, “with the way the NFL covers all the events, not just the regular season, but the draft or the combine. They’ve made it really accessible for the fan. And so, a combination of that and how well the Eagles have played in the past couple of years, it just makes me want to continue to follow the team and know what they’re doing and what’s going on with the players.”
