Bryce Young lived in Havertown, and still has family in Mt. Airy. To the Panthers QB, Philly is a ‘second home’

For most of Bryce Young’s life, his family had a tradition. Whenever they’d visit Philadelphia, during the summer or the holidays, they’d slowly drive past their old house on Hillcrest Avenue in Havertown.

His mother, Julie, would scan the neighborhood to see if anything had changed. She’d point out his favorite childhood spots, like Paddock Park. They’d go to the court where her husband, Craig, once lifted Bryce as a toddler high up in the air, as he flung a small basketball toward a hoop.

The Panthers quarterback doesn’t remember these moments with clarity, and it’s hard to blame him. He was born in Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood in July of 2001, but spent only six months in Havertown before he and his parents moved to Pasadena, Calif., in early 2002.

But Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs were more than just a short stop on his NFL-bound journey. Craig was born in Harrisburg, and grew up in Mt. Airy (eventually relocating to Harbor City, Calif., after his parents split).

Craig’s late father, Harold Frye, lived in Glenside, where his son would visit him. The elder Young still has family in the northwest corner of the city: his sister, cousins, aunts, uncles.

Until middle school, Bryce traveled to Philadelphia with his parents every year. More traditions were formed, like a Christmas Eve caroling party at Frye’s home on Newbold Lane, followed by a stop to the quarterback’s favorite cheesesteak (and pizza steak) place — Dalessandro’s.

He wouldn’t leave the city without stuffing his suitcase to the brim with Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets.

“Even when family members came out to California, it was like, ‘Hey, bring us some Tastykakes,’” Julie recalled. “And they do, to this day.”

Young didn’t live in Delaware County long enough to earn any sort of hometown greeting (á la Mike Trout). When he made his Lincoln Financial Field debut, in a 22-16 Carolina loss on Dec. 8, 2024, he was met with typical hostility.

Despite that, Young led his team to a near-comeback over the eventual Super Bowl champions, in the midst of a subpar season. The quarterback had been benched after dropping his first two games. He eventually got his starting job back, but finished the year at 5-12.

On Sunday, the Wynnewood native will return to Philadelphia amid the strongest season of his NFL career. The Panthers are 2-2, and Young leads the league in yards per game (317), with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

To be able to play in front of friends and family, mere miles from where he was born, makes it all the more sweet — even with the boo birds.

“He has fond memories of the city,” said Craig. “This is a city that’s kind of like a second home to him.”

Like most Philadelphians in the 1970s, Craig Young was a big Sixers fan. He loved Dr. J, and then Charles Barkley, and when he moved to California, he became enamored of the Showtime Lakers.

His affinity for basketball only strengthened after the couple moved to Havertown in 2001. Craig had been hired at an ad agency, Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners. One of his clients was Comcast SportsNet, which gave him easy access to tickets.

When Julie was eight months pregnant with the future Panthers quarterback, the couple decided to go to Game 3 of the Lakers-Sixers NBA Finals. As the elder Young detailed to The Inquirer in January 2022, the night did not end well.

This was somewhat ironic given how the night started. The game was held at the First Union Center, which Julie said had offered parking for expectant mothers close to the entrance.

“It was very nice,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘That’s a nice thing for Philly. Oh, how sweet!’”

Perhaps deceptively sweet. Dressed in bright yellow Kobe Bryant jerseys, Julie and Craig walked through the doors to their mid-level seats. They were immediately greeted with a barrage of boos. One man spilled beer down Craig’s neck while he was riding up the escalator.

His wife was not spared, either. The crowd at the First Union Center focused not on her bump, but on her fandom, and tried to make the experience as uncomfortable as possible.

“Before we could even [get] to our seats, they were yelling, ‘Don’t let them sit down! Don’t let them sit down!’” Julie said with a laugh. “And luckily, the gentleman at the end was like, ‘She’s pregnant! Like, I gotta let them in!’”

Despite a 35-point performance from Allen Iverson, the Lakers won, 96-91, thanks in part to a late-game scoring spree from Robert Horry.

As disgruntled fans started to filter out, Craig and Julie stayed glued to their seats. After the crowd dispersed, they took their jerseys off, and walked back to the car in their undershirts.

“We always joked that Bryce was able to endure fan harassment early on,” Craig said. “Even in the womb.”

It was a precursor of high-pressure environments to come. Following his graduation from Mater Dei High School in 2020, Young enrolled at Alabama (which he later said he chose because of the culture set by one Jalen Hurts).

By 2021, he was the starter, and made good on his opportunity, becoming the first quarterback in school history to throw for 3,000 plus-yards in two seasons. He was selected by the Panthers No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL draft, but immediately encountered adversity.

Head coach Frank Reich was fired in late November, after a league-worst 1-10 start. The team’s offensive line saw a lot of turnover, and allowed 65 total sacks. Over a 16-game season, Young had nearly as many interceptions (10) as he did touchdowns (11), and ranked 29th of 30 qualified quarterbacks in QBR.

His 2024 season began with his aforementioned benching after two blowout losses. Young reclaimed his role in October, but only after backup quarterback Andy Dalton sprained his thumb.

Again, the Wynnewood native made the most of his opportunity. Over the Panthers’ remaining 10 games, Young passed for 2,104 yards with 20 combined touchdowns. He led the team to near-wins against the Chiefs and Buccaneers entering their Dec. 8 game against the Eagles.

More than a dozen of Young’s aunts, uncles, and cousins were in attendance that day, most of them in Kelly green. This was less of an issue during the game, but more noticeable afterward, when they all met in the Panthers’ friends and family section.

In a sea of Carolina blue, the Youngs stood out.

“One family member had customized socks with Bryce’s picture on it,” Craig recalled. “So they were like, ‘Oh, but look at my socks,’ and that was the compromise.”

They made sure the quarterback knew where their allegiance lay.

“The game had ended maybe 50 minutes before,” Young told the media. “I come out, hug my parents, and everyone else was like, ‘You guys almost beat us. Don’t ever do that again. We got y’all. We killed y’all.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, I just got done playing like 50 minutes ago … please don’t do this.’”

Despite his extended family’s wishes, Young will be an even more formidable opponent on Sunday than he was two years ago. And regardless of how the game goes, the quarterback is excited to be back in a city he’s always felt love for.

But this time, there will be some ground rules for his Philadelphia family.

“We’ve had a discussion this time around,” Craig said. “Today, you’re going to have to make a decision. You can still come to the game and root for the Eagles. But then you’re not going into the family section with us after.”

Listen to the latest episode

The Eagles are back from London, looking to leave the disappointment of a last-second defeat behind while choosing instead to focus on lessons they can learn from a third straight loss. And you know what? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane actually thinks there were encouraging takeaways from the game, outcome aside. He and Mike Sielski discussed why the Eagles’ sky, despite being gray, isn’t falling just yet, and what the team can build on to if it hopes to reverse its fortunes during a key stretch of the schedule that begins Sunday.  Listen here.

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