Eagles fan John Brenner got a NSFW tattoo to celebrate two victories: the Super Bowl and beating cancer
Underneath the vintage Eagles logo on Brenner’s right arm, is the abbreviation “F.C.G.B.” The second part stands for “Go Birds.” The first part commemorates a win much bigger than the Super Bowl.
Over 1,000 miles from Philadelphia, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., John Brenner would sit in his chemo bed wearing his vintage Eagles hat and wage his battle with Stage 3 colorectal cancer.
His fight started in September 2023 when he was living in Florida — and the Eagles got out to a 10-1 start, helping Brenner keep his hopes high despite his diagnosis.
Of course, things didn’t go as planned for the Eagles — they lost five of their last six regular-season games and suffered an early postseason exit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two months later, in March 2024, Brenner found himself sitting in the food court at Broward Mall, eating Chick-fil-A when Eagles center Jason Kelce announced his retirement.
As tears ran down his face, the Fishtown native knew he needed to return home to Philly.
“I just lost it,” said Brenner, 44. “And in a lot of ways, I think that moment was kind of the spark plug, I need to be home. Like, what am I doing here in Florida? I remember sitting there, my homesickness hit a whole new level just listening to that press conference. And those people in the food court were probably looking at me like I was crazy.”
Brenner moved to Florida in 2017, before the Eagles won their first Super Bowl. He moved back to Philly in June 2024, where he finished his treatment at Penn Medicine and had his tumor removed in August ahead of the football season.
So when the season ended with a Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Brenner was able to join the party on Broad Street instead of celebrating in Florida like he did in 2018.
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“I felt like the season was for me personally,” Brenner said. “I had just finished this battle. I was cancer-free and happy and back at home. Now, the Eagles season starts and here we are, going on this run. And right after the Super Bowl, me and my buddy Isaac, we went to Broad Street and we partied with everybody.”
To pay homage to the successful season, and to celebrate beating cancer, Brenner decided to get a tattoo. Two months after the Super Bowl, Brenner went to South Philadelphia’s Floating Worlds Tattoo to meet with owner Don Salleroli. After two hours, Brenner walked out with a vintage Eagles logo across his right forearm with the letters F.C.G.B written underneath.
“The F.C.G.B. stands for — Cancer, Go Birds,” Brenner said. “And I have the Super Bowl Roman numerals as well. The comma after LIX is something I call the comma of eternal hope.”
Brenner hopes to add onto the tattoo as soon as possible, especially following the passing of his father, William, earlier this month. Growing up, he adopted his diehard fandom for the Birds — and his same hatred toward the Dallas Cowboys — from his father, by attending Eagles training camp together in West Chester.
“It’s been hard,” Brenner said. “And it’s one of those weird things. Like, I take a strange solace in the fact that my dad did get to see two Super Bowl [victories]. But, when it comes to last year’s Super Bowl, I like to say that was for me. Next year’s going to be for my dad.”
But there was also good news for Brenner. In recent weeks, he returned to Penn Medicine for a one year checkup. No cancer or polyps were found.
“This is a major peace of mind ahead of the season,” Brenner said.
Now he just needs the Eagles to do their part.