Meet Gregg Matza, the Eagles fan who is anything but casual
If Sundays are a religion, then the stadium parking lots in South Philly are the altar for this Delaware County native.
It’s just after 7 a.m. on Oct. 1, and Lot F outside of Lincoln Financial Field is filling with fans ahead of the Eagles’ game against the Commanders.
Gregg Matza, wearing a Reggie White jersey and Eagles hat, walks over to his new portable bar table, where he rests his cigar.
As he’s talking, two Eagles fans approach him.
“We saw you on the news the other week!” one said. “You’re the [expletive] man!”
“I got here at 1:45 this morning,” Matza responded. “I couldn’t sleep.”
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Before the Eagles’ 8:15 p.m. home opener against the Vikings, Matza went viral for getting to the stadium at 4:30 a.m. ESPN posted a KYW interview of him on Instagram, which led to some national recognition. But early starts are nothing new for Matza.
As he puts it, “This is what I do.”
Every game day starts with a live stream on Facebook. Parked outside the stadium on South 11th Street, Matza goes live, where he’ll give shout-outs to family, friends, and coworkers.
Before the Commanders game, the live stream ended at 2 a.m. By 2:05 a.m., Matza was already drinking his first Miller Lite.
Then, he waits.
“I go back in the car, and I stare out the window, and I think about what’s it going to be like, like the first drive of the Eagles,” Matza said with his thick Delaware County accent. “The noise in that stadium on a third-and-2 when they’re on defense, it’s worth the money. It’s worth the money. Listen, you’re always going to make [more] money.”
After plenty of time thinking about the game, the lots finally open, seven hours before kickoff. Matza, 49, heads to his spot, which backs up to the fence on the side of the lot.
About 6:15 a.m., the first member of Matza’s tailgate crew arrives. Adrian Marshall met Matza years ago tailgating at an Eagles game, and now the two have a setup together.
“He’s insane,” Marshall said. “He’s a crazy dude. He takes so much pride in himself for getting down here first thing in the morning. He’s always the first one in line.”
Once they’re in the lot, it starts. There’s music, cigars, beer, liquor, shrimp, and tomato pie. And that’s all there before the rest of the crew arrives.
When you’re in that stadium, and they score a touchdown, and 67,000 people are singing ‘Fly Eagles Fly.’ Come on. There’s nothing better in the world to me.”
Throughout the day, Matza’s family and friends will file through. There are usually 15-20 people at the tailgate, and in the group, eight people have season tickets. They’re split into two sections, half in 127 and the others with Matza in 128.
The group parties for hours. Sometimes, they will bring out their custom cornhole set with “MATZA” spelled across the top and the holes outlined by green lights.
Around 12:15 p.m., it’s time to head in. Matza watches from the end zone and, win or lose, comes back out and reheats the grill for more tailgating as the traffic passes. If the game ends around 4 p.m., he says, he probably won’t leave until 6.
“I love being down here,” Matza said. “Why wouldn’t you want to be down here? You got like 65,000 people and me in that stadium, going nuts. No voice Monday. There’ll be no voice when I’m done. I give them 110 percent, the Eagles. But this is what I do. This is it. This is Gregg Matza, going wild.”
Matza’s first year as a season-ticket holder was the 2017 season, and before the NFC championship game against the Vikings, he couldn’t sleep. He ended up just going to the stadium at 4:30 a.m. for the 6:20 p.m. kickoff, and the Eagles won, so he kept doing it.
“The Super Bowl year, that’s when I got in, and I never looked back,” he said. “I don’t care how much it costs. It’s worth it. When you’re in that stadium, and they score a touchdown, and 67,000 people are singing ‘Fly Eagles Fly.’ Come on. There’s nothing better in the world to me.
“I mean, I got chills. I [have] chills right now thinking about today. And it’s 7:07 in the morning, and we’ll be here all day partying.”
Matza’s full-time job is working for the Philadelphia Parking Authority, but on Saturday nights, he bartends at Bluegrass Billiards. Some nights, he won’t get to his home in Bensalem until 2:30 a.m., but he’s not worried about sleep.
“I get fired up for the Eagles,” Matza said. “I mean, it is what it is. Sometimes you sleep, sometimes you don’t.”
Before Matza entered the stadium for the home opener, his phone was already littered with messages from people who saw him on ESPN.
“Eagles football, to me, is like a religion.”
“My dad calls me, he goes, ‘You’re on ESPN.’ I made ESPN,” Matza said. “I never thought in a million years I would do that. … My phone was ringing in the stadium like, ‘How are you still alive?’”
But after the game, it didn’t stop.
In the video, Matza predicted that the Eagles would win by six and that D’Andre Swift is “really going to step up for the Birds.” The Eagles won, 34-28, and Swift ran for 175 yards and a touchdown on his way to winning NFC offensive player of the week honors.
It was a viral day for Matza, but not a one-off thing. This is what he does.
“Eagles football, to me, is like a religion,” Matza said. “All week, you’re waiting. Now it’s Tuesday, now it’s Thursday, now it’s Saturday. … You pack the car Saturday night, and when you wake up, it’s like Christmas, every home game.”
The Eagles host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.