How is this Eagles fan keeping the faith? By churning out Billy Joel parodies

Robert Williams III never knows which Yacht Rock tune or ’90s hip-hop jam he’ll parody when his beloved Birds take the field.

But by the top of the fourth quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles fan and social media content creator not only has the song picked (more times than not, it’s a Billy Joel classic), but he has also written most of the lyrics, practiced the hook, the chorus, and the bridge.

The result looks something like “Allen Down” — a hilarious remix of Joel’s 1982 hit “Allentown.”

Williams, a retired Army veteran who served in the Afghanistan war, wrote that one as he watched the Birds beat the Buffalo Bills the Sunday after Christmas, clinching their spot in this Sunday’s first round of the NFL playoffs.

In the video he’s dressed like a giant Eagle while clowning on Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The clip has 19,000 likes on Instagram and tens of thousands of likes on TikTok and Facebook.

“Philadelphia took Allen down

Every time you looked he was on the ground.

Vic Fangio did a heck of a job.

I’m guessing the Bills drank too much eggnog," the song goes.

Williams’ cheeky videos, filmed in his Severn, Md., Kelly green man cave, have earned the Hamilton, N.J., native a combined 2 million followers on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. And a lot of those followers are from Philly.

That includes Questlove, Jazzy Jeff, Chill Moody, State Rep. Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia), and legendary WDAS announcer Patty Jackson.

Star social media influencer Gillie Da King, too, is in on the fun.

Before the 2025 NFL season even started, former NFL player-turned-podcaster Cam Newton ribbed Jalen Hurts, saying he wasn’t one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. Gillie took offense and hazed Newton on social media all season.

After Hurts’ stellar game against the New York Giants in Week 8, Williams dropped a video sampling LL Cool J’s 1997 hit “4,3,2,1.” In it, Williams mocks Newton — complete with long hair, wide-brimmed hat, and round glasses offering a fake apology to Gillie through a series of crisp bars.

Gillie liked and shared it.

“I was like ‘Wow’,” Williams said. “That right there is a big thing for me.”

Williams, who is known across social media as @robertwilliamsfilms, is also recognized as being among the influencers who trade in Gen X nostalgia, creators like Maria Ferrer and the Urban Rewind.

His loyal fans include some of the biggest old-school rappers: Ice Cube, and Wu Tang Clan’s Ghost Face Killah and Inspectah Deck. Common began leaving friendly — albeit slick — comments on Williams’ parodies in Week 13 after the Birds’ devastating loss to the Chicago Bears.

Williams quickly borrowed the arrangement of Common’s “Go,” changing the lyrics to “No.” That post has 74.3K likes on Instagram.

Even famously estranged musicians Daryl Hall and John Oates both agree on Williams’ talent. Williams cover of Hall & Oates’ 1975 hit “Sara Smile” after Week 15’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders as ”Jalen Smile" drew likes and comments from each of the musicians.

Williams’ devotion to the Eagles goes back to the mid-1980s when Buddy Ryan was coach and Randall Cunningham and Reggie White were on the team.

“I fell in love with the passion they brought to the game,” he said

Williams, 49, a fan of soft rock groups Tears for Fears, Toto, Air Supply, and Journey, watched a lot of MTV. He enjoyed Weird Al Yankovic’s parodies of ’80s icons Michael Jackson, Madonna, and later, Coolio.

“I had such an admiration for Weird Al,” Williams said. “Me and my little brothers would walk to school making up our own lyrics … Songs would just pop in my head and I’d rearrange the lyrics.”

He never stopped.

While still in the Army, Williams, now a husband and father of two, picked up a side hustle as a videographer, shooting weddings and other special events.

“I was a student of YouTube University,” he said.

COVID ended that gig but also marked the beginning of Williams’ social media career.

He posted his first parody — “It’s Almost Thanksgiving” performed to the melody of The Golden Girls theme “Thank you for Being a Friend” — on social media in 2020.

His bridge: “It won’t be a party, we’ll be talking to everyone on Zoom.”

He combined his love of sports and parodies during the 2023-24 NFL season. That first post centered on Williams’ disdain for the Dallas Cowboys. In it, his daughter slyly asks, “Daddy, how long has it been since the Cowboys won the Super Bowl?” Williams (also known as Billy Soul) puts on a strawberry blond wig and spoofs a 1984 Billy Joel hit: “For the Longest Time.”

That video received 212K likes on Instagram and remains one of his top posts.

“My Billy Joel parodies seem to do the best and I have a lot of fun doing them,” Williams said. “My favorite genres of music are hip-hop and R&B so those parodies are easy to me. When I’m doing Billy Joel, I’m challenging myself.”

He is committed to posting an Eagles recap weekly during the 2025-26 season. This year his costumes are more elaborate — he has two boxes of wigs to choose from. His wife, Katrina, and his children, Rakim and Dayla, make regular appearances. He’s also monetized his page, earning a few hundred dollars a month.

Williams’ videos do well because he’s fast. By the end of the game, not only is the song written but he has also cued up the footage to intersperse between verses. It takes him about a half an hour to record his voice and film the storyline.

The videos are posted within two hours after the game ends.

But sometimes, Williams is scrambling.

Last Sunday, after the Birds’ surprising fourth-quarter loss to the Washington Commanders, he had to quickly retool his version to Billy Joel’s “Keeping the Faith.”

In the revamped final verse, he sang: “Some say sitting the starters was a good thing. Now we will play as the No. 3 seed. Now it’s time to be the Broad Street Bullies. ‘Cause the 49ers aren’t all that good and we’ll prove it at the Linc next week …”

As for Sunday’s game, Williams is keeping the faith.

“Some people think we can’t turn on a dime and win this whole thing,” Williams said. “But I believe we will.”