Eagles make Ukrainian refugee’s new fandom come to life, bringing him to the game at Lincoln Financial Field

Sergei Zherdev found a community within the Eagles fandom after fleeing to Philadelphia from the war in Ukraine. Now, he has experienced that community in person with 70,000 strong at Lincoln Financial Field.

Zherdev immigrated to Philadelphia in mid-January, and a “welcome circle” of six Philly-area residents helped him acclimate to his new city. That included introducing him to the Eagles, the “universal Philly greeting” of “Go Birds,” and a visit to see the Eagles’ stadium — but only from the outside. Zherdev quickly became captivated by the Eagles during their run to the Super Bowl last season, watching the games on television with his welcome circle.

He had started saving up money to eventually see a game in person. Until the Eagles stepped in.

Eagles president Don Smolenski read Zherdev’s story in The Inquirer in August, and the plan to bring him to a game was set in motion. It just so happened that the date that ultimately worked out was one of the anticipated days on the Eagles’ calendar, with the Dallas Cowboys in town.

“He grew to become a fan of the team and learn about the game and even tried out the ‘Go Birds’ by himself, got a response,” Smolenski said last week. “Why not complete his experience by providing him with being on the inside, with 70,000 diehard fans cheering on the team?”

On Sunday, the Eagles gave Zherdev and his welcome circle sideline passes to be on the field ahead of the game and watch warmups. They also presented Zherdev with a personalized midnight green Eagles jersey, plus a kelly green jersey autographed by 10 of the team’s players. Smolenski even let Zherdev try on his Super Bowl LII ring.

“The Philadelphia Eagles are a unifier,” Smolenski said. “Here’s people from different backgrounds, from different parts of the world. In this case, Sergei even has limited English. However, they’ve come together and bonded around the Philadelphia Eagles.”