How Eagles fans across the world are celebrating the Super Bowl
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It's 3am in Sydney, Australia, and Benny Zucchetto is up watching Saquon Barkley slice through another defense.
The big picture: He's part of Birds Gang International, a network of Eagles fan clubs spanning continents and time zones. From Brisbane to Boston, they're united by their love of football, or as the Aussies call it, "gridiron."
- Fans say the Eagles reflect their working-class values, brashness and underdog mentality.
- "This isn't a sport. This is a religion," says Zucchetto, who's among a smattering of Australian club members who attended Eagles games for their honeymoons.
How it works: The fan clubs organize trips every year to watch the Birds play in Philadelphia. They talk about Lincoln Financial Field in reverential terms, like pilgrims to a holy land.
- Liam O'Neill, president of the British and Irish Eagles fan club, calls the Linc the "eighth wonder" of the world.
- He flew in for the NFC Championship game, bopping around tailgates and drinking enough whiskey to make his liver pucker.
With a good buzz, he settled into his seat at the 50-yard line and was overcome by emotion.
- "It was this tingly, euphoric shivering," O'Neill tells Axios.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Eagles fans pack into the two floors of Scores Bar every week, bringing a slice of South Philly to the heart of Patriots country.
- And they're going all out for the Super Bowl — complete with giveaways and a replica Lombardi Trophy, says Josh Uzarski, a research scientist who leads the club.
- Uzarski grew up in Comstock, Michigan, adoring former Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham and the "Gang Green" defense, which aligned with his upbringing.
"Blue-collar family, live and die with your team," he tells Axios.
- The Boston group has adopted that same mantra. And they've used their Birds love to raise money for charities, like the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Zoom out: With millions of fans, the NFL is expanding its footprint around the world.
- Since 2005, the league has played dozens of international games, including this season's first-ever game in Brazil, between the Eagles and the Packers.
- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league hopes to have eight international games in 2025 and is looking to add more cities.
- The Eagles will reportedly play the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in October 2026 in the league's first-ever game in Australia.
Between the lines: The international groups serve as cultural ambassadors, bridging their local communities with Philadelphia.
- British and Irish Eagles fans record a podcast about the team — a tool they've used to grow their reach.
What they're saying: O'Neill says members of their club relate to the Eagles' fanatical culture, which bears some resemblance to the U.K.'s history of soccer hooliganism.
- O'Neill's wife is his link to the Eagles. Her uncle lives in Bucks County, and O'Neill watched his first game at the Green Parrot, a bar in Newtown.
- Now, he says, he spends "a lot of my life talking and discussing and thinking about the Eagles."
Some Australian fans compare the Eagles to their rugby teams, saying they're always ready to "step on throats and win."
Plus: The Birds' hardnosed All-Pro left tackle Jordan Mailata is a former rugby player from Australia.
- Mailata was part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program and hadn't played a down of football before being drafted by the Eagles in 2018.
The intrigue: Some members of the Australian fan club have their own connections with Mailata.
- Ibrahim Malas grew up in the same Bankstown suburb and played for the same junior rugby club team as him.
- And Malas has long been repping the No. 68 jersey — even once tuning into a game in the delivery room while his wife was giving birth.
- "She understands," he tells Axios.
Zucchetto has an expensive cache of Mailata memorabilia that he's built up over the years.
- "I got that man's signature on everything in my house except my mortgage papers," Zucchetto says.
The bottom line: Across the world, Birds Gang International will be congregating for a chance to see the Eagles clutch a second Lombardi Trophy.
- Aaron Ortega — a superfan known as Birdman951 — will be in Las Vegas for the big day, surrounded by West Coast Birds fans.
- "I'm not even on the team, and this is going to be the greatest thing to me," the West Coast 'N Birds president says.