Fans gather for Flyers’ Community Caravan in Ocean City with renewed optimism about the team’s future
The Flyers hosted their 10th annual Community Caravan this summer. Fans came to Ocean City for an offseason celebration and expressed excitement about the team's progression after last season.
On May 27, 1975, Barbara Flank’s father woke his then four-year-old daughter, carried her downstairs, and sat her in front of the television.
“You might only see this once in your lifetime,” Flank remembered her father telling her about what was happening on the screen. The Flyers were on the verge of defeating the Buffalo Sabres, 2-0, in Game 6 to claim their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
Ever since that night, Flank, who grew up in Atlantic City and now lives in Somers Point, has been a diehard Flyers fan.
On Thursday, Flank joined hundreds of fellow fans at the Ocean City Sport and Civic Center for the Flyers’ 10th annual Community Caravan presented by Xfinity. It was an offseason celebration that showcased the excitement surrounding the team coming off a playoff appearance and a busy summer building momentum for the future.
Fans showed up dressed head to toe in the Flyers’ signature orange and black, lining up for autographs from former players, exclusive giveaways, and a chance to meet Gritty.
The event featured Flyers-themed merchandise, including Gritty beach towels, reusable tote bags, visors, slim koozies, and Gritty memo pads. Fans posed for pictures with Gritty and had the chance to shop official Flyers apparel from the merch pop-up. Porter Martone and Trevor Zegras jerseys were the most popular item at the pop-up. There were also obstacle courses, ping-pong tables, and hockey sticks for people to play with.
The main purpose of the event is to continue to keep fans engaged during the offseason, President of Flyers Charities and Alternate Governor of the Flyers Blair Listino said.
“This is really to bring our fans together with our alumni and partners and get them involved in the community,” Listino said. “As we know, a lot of people spend their summers down at the shore, so it is intentional to have these events down here. We want to make it convenient for the fans so we can get a lot of engagement.”
The caravan made stops in Voorhees, Cape May, Mays Landing, and Ocean City and will end in Exton on Aug. 19.
One of the tents at the caravan featured an interactive game from the student wellness app the Flyers developed with Athlon last year. Designed to provide students in Philadelphia and South Jersey school districts with “brain breaks” both in and out of the classroom, the app places users in a virtual Flyers environment where they skate across the ice, jump over obstacles, and duck to avoid Gritty, Listino said. Fans were able to try the game during the event for a chance to win Flyers prizes.
Engaging with the former players was the highlight of the event for Wallingford native Jason Kilpatrick, who has been a Flyers fan since he was born in 1979. He took off work on Thursday to attend the event with his 7 and 10 year old sons.
“I went right up to Brian Propp and I was like you’re one of my childhood heroes. It’s so nice to meet you,” Kilpatrick said. “It was nice to connect with him. I remember when I was my son’s age watching him play in the Stanley Cup finals, so that was pretty cool.”
Propp was joined by fellow Flyers alumni Doug Crossman, Riley Cote, Bob Kelly, and Todd Fedoruk. Each spent time signing autographs and interacting with fans.
Long lines wrapped around the venue throughout the afternoon as fans waited to get in, a sight Fedoruk said reflects the growing enthusiasm surrounding the franchise.
“It is a lot better when they’re winning,” Fedoruk said. “The caravan is something that grows year after year, and it’s good to get involved in the community. Five years ago, I was doing this event and 150 people showed up. You got the diehard Flyers fans to show up, but when they start winning even more people come out.”
The buzz around the offseason moves made by management were at the top of conversation for many people attending the event. Fifteen-year-old Tommy Klem, who was in Ocean City for vacation with his family, said the Leo Carlsson pursuit and other deals during the offseason sent a message to the rest of the league.
“It kind of shows they are progressing through the rebuild and they’re not going for all these 28-, 29-year-old guys, but they’re going for the guys they can build off on in the future,” Tommy said.
He and his father, Tom Klem, have remained loyal to the Flyers despite living in Granby, Conn., deep in Boston Bruins fan territory, he said.
Tom was christened on the day the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup in 1974, and has stayed a fan ever since.
“My mother is from Bensalem, so I grew up a fan of all the Philadelphia teams,” Tom said. “My sons haven’t had the long hard misery that I’ve had as a fan, but we are optimistic about the future of the team.”
Fedoruk, who spent seven seasons with the Flyers after being drafted 164th overall in 1997, agreed that the offseason only strengthened their chances of making another playoff run.
“That’s a big message that the organization sent to the entire league this summer with the offer sheet, the dynamics of it, and just the moves that they made,” Fedoruk said. “They’re doing what a team should be doing.
“I think the other teams are going to be aware of that, but mostly the players are going to know that this is a destination city. You’re going to want to come and play here. And that’s probably due to the fan base and the job the front office has done.”
